


Just Trust Me

by Abreebee123



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Ahahahahaha... Nope, And injured, But I don't care enough to actually do anything about it, But does that mean I'm going to give him a break?, But done in a different and very odd way, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Henry is pretty dang tired, It's pretty much an AU that every fanfic writing and their mother has done, No idea why you people like it so much, Takes place in Chapter 5, The poor guy's gone through literal heck, This is a really weird AU, pronouns are all over the place
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-01-30 05:16:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21422794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abreebee123/pseuds/Abreebee123
Summary: In which Allison notices the secret messages in Henry's cell, grows suspicious, and doesn't give him the Seeing-Tool. An unfortunate turn of events for poor Henry, especially considering the fact that Bendy might just finally get his claws on him...
Comments: 72
Kudos: 154





	1. It Could Be Worse... Right?

**Author's Note:**

> In this, Henry doesn't come back from death, so he's still toting around every injury he's gotten so far. The poor dude fell several stories, got aggressively vibe checked by a wacko, and rudely dropped in an elevator, just to name a few. The guy is weary and worn-out. 
> 
> And then Allison decides to not trust him enough to show him the Seeing-Tool. I wonder what could come of that? And I wonder why ol' Benderoo wants Henry in the first place...
> 
> I got the idea completely out of the blue and just decided to start writing. Regardless, enjoy, and PLEASE let me know in the comments if you did.

Henry sat on the cot, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Every part of him hurt. From less serious bruises and abrasions to larger cuts and gashes, his body was littered with injuries, all of which were either just sore or felt like they were on fire. And considering everything he’d gone through in the past couple days— or however long he’d spent down here —he was surprised he was only beat up, rather than dead. He probably _ should’ve _ been dead at that point. He’d fallen multiple stories, been knocked unconscious from a blow to the head, been attacked by ink monsters and living cartoons, and dropped who-knows-how-many floors in a rusty old elevator, just to name a few. But no, he was still alive and kicking. He’d always been stubborn, and it was probably a combination of sheer luck and that stubbornness that had kept him alive thus far. It was probably what kept him alive back during the war as well. He’d just kept telling himself that this was no different.

But it _ was _ different. The man he’d once considered his best friend had invited him back to their old studio to talk, but he’d found a massive building full of unnatural monsters. Heck, he’d been hunted relentlessly by a creature with the smile of his Little Devil Darling, a cartoon he’d once poured his heart and soul into. A part of him wondered how he did it. How Joey Drew managed to literally bring to life cartoon characters that once only existed on the silver screen. But another part of him, the practical, logical part, didn’t care. He’d seen what had become of everything. The madness that lurked around every corner. The ink that covered everything, that was absolutely everywhere, dripping from the ceiling, smeared on the walls, in puddles on the floor, flooding rooms, hallways, and entire levels. There was no use focusing on ‘how’ or ‘why’, he just needed to get out of this place.

But. 

That twisted version of Alice Angel had taken his only friend in this crazy place. She’d not just killed him, but turned him into a mindless monster that he’d been forced to fight. To _ kill _. Just remembering made his throat clench up, hot tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. He blinked them away. Now he was stuck here, in this make-shift prison cell, being held by another Alice Angel and another Boris named Tom. He’d been so focused on saving his friend that now… now he was so, so, deep in the studio. He had no idea how to get out, or even if he could. It had been his desire to escape driving him before, and then his need to save Boris. But what did he have now? 

He sighed, bringing an ink-stained hand up to rub his eyes. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been held in that little cell, but at least he was starting to heal. Slowly. He tried to focus on what he’d do after the other Alice and Tom trusted him enough to let him out. He’d likely stay with the pair, if they let him, but what then? 

It frustrated him, not being able to have a game plan. He liked being in control, at least somewhat. Even just having a general idea of what was going on would be fine. But down here he didn’t have a clue. Anything could happen, and chances were that it’d be dangerous. He hated not knowing. Because when he didn’t know, he was helpless. Like right now.

He stood up, the cot creaking beneath him as he moved to sit on the floor. He picked up his pen, chewing on the end absent-mindedly as he tried to make out the hushed voice in the next room. The other Alice and Tom were talking. Well, Other Alice was talking to Tom. About him, probably. Since he was unable to make out what was being said, he focused his attention on the papers on the floor in front of him, doodling instead.

A bit later, he noticed movement. He glanced to his right, seeing that Other Alice was leaning across the table, watching him, her expression unreadable. Despite that, he decided to speak up.

“Are you going to let me out of here anytime soon?” She was quiet a moment longer before answering. 

“Tom thinks you’re dangerous,” she said simply. 

“What do you think?” She took even longer to answer this time, long enough that, for a moment, Henry thought she wouldn’t.

“I think that you haven’t done much yet to prove yourself one way or another,” she admitted. “You haven’t done much at all while you’ve been here, but on the other hand—” she lifted one gloved hand and began counting off her fingers.

“You’ve killed who-knows-how-many Searchers, a dozen Butcher Gang clones, and whatever that thing was that the Angel made. So based on that, you _ are _ pretty dangerous.” Henry let out a breathy chuckle.

“I’m just trying to survive, okay? You two saved me from Alice, so I have no reason to hurt you.” She shrugged.

“You might be right. But Tom didn’t trust you and insisted we keep you locked up, so how do we know that you won’t take it personally?” 

“Al— can I call you Al? —I understand. Down here, you can’t just go around trusting random strangers. I don’t hold it against you that you’re keeping me in here. You’re cautious, and I get that. But I won’t hurt either of you. It’d be two against one anyway, me unarmed, you with a sword, and Tom with an axe. Do you really think, even if I wanted to, that I could take both of you?” he finished finally. Al looked as though she was lost in thought, then slowly shook her head.

“You have a point. Nonetheless, I can’t let you out without talking to Tom. I’ll tell him what you told me, and if he agrees, then fine. If not, sorry.” Henry nodded. 

“Thanks. I promise, you can trust me.”

~~~

Henry woke up groggily. He rolled over onto his side, only to notice that Al was standing just outside his little prison cell. In one hand she held a strange device— a metal frame surrounding a pane of glass, with little lights and wires sticking out. She seemed to be looking at him through the glass, a baffled expression on her face. Wait, no, she wasn’t looking _ at _ him, she was looking _ above _ him. He turned his head, looking for whatever she seemed to be looking at, but there was nothing. He looked at her again. 

“What is it?” he asked. Al didn’t answer, just continued to stare. He sat up, wincing at his injuries, then turned to look behind him again. There was still nothing there.

“Al, what is it?” he repeated. She slowly let her hand, the one holding the device, drop to her side, her gaze shifting to him. She frowned, narrowing her eyes. 

Giving her head a small shake, she said, “Nothing.” She turned, giving him one last suspicious glance before walking into the other part of the room, out of sight. 

“Wonder what that was about,” he mumbled before laying back down. His various injuries throbbed, making it harder to fall back asleep. His twisted ankle from the first fall, his concussion from Sammy, scratches and bruises from the Butcher Gang, the cuts and scrapes on his back from the elevator debris, bruised ribs from the octopus ride that was Bertram Piedmont, and he was pretty sure he tore a muscle while jumping out of the way of monster Boris’ attacks… 

_ What I wouldn’t give just to stop hurting for a little while, _ he thought, a wistful smile ghosting over his lips before he closed his eyes. 

~~~

“We can’t just leave him! Not with the Ink Demon right outside the door!” Henry woke up to Al borderline shouting, seeming more panicked than he’d ever seen her. She and Tom were standing there, and the entire room shook with an ominous rumbling. He stood up, stepping close to the door of his prison.  
“What’s going on?” 

Al turned to him. “He’s coming. We have to move on,” she said quickly. Was she talking about the mangled version of Bendy, who seemed to have have been dubbed the ‘Ink Demon’ by many of the studio’s residents? That… wasn’t great. She gestured to her lupine companion. 

“Tom! We have to let him out!” She pulled at the boards blocking him inside, but they didn’t budge. He turned his attention to Tom, who was just standing there. He knew the wolf didn’t like him, but really? He would refuse to help Al, just leaving him for dead? It certainly seemed so. Tom put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. 

Then, to Henry’s dismay, she took a step backwards.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, before turning and darting out the door. Tom glanced at him for a moment before following.

“Great, just my luck,” he muttered. Gritting his teeth, he pushed against the boards with both hands. Apparently he was no stronger than the other Angel, because they stayed firmly in place. He kicked at some of the lower boards and they shuddered a bit, but didn’t break. 

  
“Oh, come on.” He turned, looking around the cramped space for anything he could use. A couple books, a pen, some candles… nothing _ useful _. 

Before he had the chance to even _ consider _ what to do next, there was an all-too-familiar hiss, and the walls and floor of the far end of the room were suddenly coated in Bendy’s trademark inky tendrils. He froze where he stood, slowly turning as he watched the Ink Demon step out of an inky void in the wall. He swallowed hard. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to get him in here? He took a step backwards toward the wall as the monster began limping towards him, the dark tendrils of ink following. 

Henry watched, wide-eyed, as Bendy came closer. The twisted toon wasn’t running like he usually did when chasing Henry. No, he knew the former animator was trapped. He was taking his time, moving at a leisurely pace, like a cat stalking a mouse. 

He stopped as he reached the door of his prison cell, a half-dozen sturdy boards being the only thing separating the two. Bendy lifted one, clawed hand, placing it deliberately on one of the boards. Then he did the same with the other, the hand still wearing a faded white glove. His grip tightened, and he suddenly pulled backward. The board came away with a _ CRACK _, and Bendy continued to do the same with the other boards, that unnatural grin never once faltering. 

Before all this, Henry had assumed that the Ink Demon was somewhat similar to a territorial predator. Just trying to kill him because he was there. But now he could tell by his body language that the toon had to be sentient, unlike the Butcher Gang and Searchers. He had a very deliberate way of doing things. The way his eyeless gaze never shifted from Henry as he broke each board, his grin seeming to grow wider with each _ CRACK _. His hands shaking slightly and his heart pounding, Henry told himself that needed to do something before Bendy got in. But what? He swallowed again before opening his mouth. 

“Bendy?” The toon paused, hands wrapped around the last board. 

“You don’t have to do this. Please, I don’t know what Joey did here, but-” Wrong thing to say, apparently. At the man’s name, Bendy seemed to tense for a split second before tearing off the board. He stepped toward Henry, and he backed up again until he was pressed completely against the wall.

When he was within arm’s reach, the Ink Demon reached out his gloved hand and pressed it against his chest, pinning him to the wall, the significant pressure making his ribs ache. He opened his mouth to say something, but the toon leaned in close, that wide grin a hairsbreadth from his face. Then, a voice seemed to echo inside his mind. A voice that seemed so familiar, yet contorted and twisted.

**You’re mine, Creator.**

Without warning, the creature’s clawed hand shot up to his face, wrapping around his mouth and nose, smothering him. 

Henry struggled to free himself for several seconds, pulling and pounding on the creature holding him with his fists. However, lacking oxygen, his body began to go limp, and a few moments later a dizzying darkness engulfed him completely. 

  
  
  
  
  


~~~

  
  
  
  
  


Before the former animator even opened his eyes, he noticed that it was silent. Absolutely silent. Even though the studio was quiet, there was always something. Machinery, creatures, ink dripping, but now, it was silent. There was also a strange sensation of floating… What was going on?

He opened his eyes, glancing around in confusion. It was pitch black. It was like an endless void. Why…? Where was he? What happened? 

In a split second, a panicked thought crossed his mind. 

_ Who am I? _

Immediately, it was followed by a name.

_ Henry _ . _ Henry, Henry, Henry. _

He repeated it to himself until he didn’t feel like he was in danger of forgetting. Of course he wouldn’t forget his own name, that was crazy! But he couldn’t shake the nagging thought that, even for a split second, he had.

Now, where on earth was he??

He looked around again, but there was absolutely nothing. Slowly, a realization dawned on him. He didn’t hurt. At all. But he had more than a dozen injuries at this point, and he was constantly feeling several of them at any given time. It’d been forever since he hadn’t been in pain, but right now he wasn’t even the least bit sore. 

In fact… he felt… good. Protected. Content, even, as strange as it was. The warm feelings blossoming inside his chest felt almost wrong, though. He shouldn’t feel like this, not after everything he’d gone through. What had happened before he ended up here? He frowned, trying to remember. It felt as though it was on the tip of his tongue, metaphorically. It was so close…

**Well, the old timer’s finally awake!**

The sudden familiar voice startled Henry. Eyes darting from side to side, he called, “Who’s there?” 

**Aw, Henry, ya don’t remember? That hurts, it really does. **

“You know me?” he asked, thoroughly confused. There was some loud laughter in response. 

**Henry, you are a riot! ‘Course I know ya! You’re the ** ** _Creator_ ** **, after all. **

It was like a dam broke. Suddenly, all the previous events came flooding back, and Henry took a sharp breath, body tensing noticeably.

“Bendy? But… that doesn’t make sense. Where am I?” The demon chuckled again.

**It don’t matter where you are. Just relax! You’re safe for the first time in who-knows-how-long, so why don’tcha just enjoy it, huh? Why don’tcha just trust me?**

Despite the lingering feelings of warmth and contentedness, the demon’s words only made him want to do the opposite. 

“Why am I here? What do you want with me? Where are Al and Tom? Let me out of h-!” Bendy interrupted him, sounding just a bit annoyed. 

**Now yer just bumping gums, old man. Why don’tcha just ** ** _relax_ ** **?**

The final word was significantly more forceful, and suddenly, a wave of calm crashed over him, wrapping around him almost like a physical thing. Like invisible hands around him, making him unable to move. However, even though he’d been claustrophobic his entire life, the sensation somehow managed to feel almost soothing instead. The tension drained from his muscles, every angry and anxious thought fading from his mind, all his questions suddenly seeming much less important… Maybe that was a good idea. Relaxing was nice. He didn’t have to worry about any of that stuff… 

Henry snapped to attention, eyes widening, shaking his head to try to get rid of that invasive tranquility. 

“What are you doing?!” he demanded, forcing his voice to sound firm despite his strong desire to yawn. Maybe curl up and take a nap too… Henry shook his head again. 

**Why, I’m givin’ you exactly what you wanted. To not have to worry ‘bout all this, right? To not be in constant pain? To not have to deal with the never-endin’ danger in the studio? Heck, I’m even keeping out outta the puddles, even though I don’t have to. I’m a generous guy! So what could possibly be the problem? **

“The _ problem _ is that I don’t want this. I want to go _ home _ . I want to see my _ wife. _”

**Well that ain’t exactly an option, buddy. **

“You— you’re talking as though you need me for something. But what? I’m no one special. I’m just Henry.”

**You’re right about one thing, old timer. I ** ** _do_ ** ** need you for somethin’! But ** ** _just_ ** ** Henry? Ha! You really don’t realize, do ya? **

“Realize what?” He was starting to get exasperated at the lack of a clear answer.

**That you’re just the thing I need to become perfect! **

Henry recoiled at that word. Alice wanted— no, was _ obsessed _ with —the exact same thing. Perfection. It was what drove her to kill all those creatures. It was what drove her to kill… 

**Can you imagine? I’ll finally be strutting this place lookin’ exactly how I was s’posed to! And I for one can‘t wait!**

Henry’s breathing began to speed up. There was no way he could just let that happen, he needed to get home to Linda! 

“Nononono, let me out! LET ME OUT!” 

**Relax, you won’t feel a thing. In fact, it’ll probably be the most enjoyable thing you’ve ever experienced! **

Henry could hardly hear the words over his own panic.

“LET ME OUT OF H—whoooaaa…..”

That same calmness from before washed over him, but now even more intense, sucking the fight right out of him, a haze descending over his mind as those invisible hands tightened.

**Oh, shush. You’re only stressin’ yourself out. Now remember, I coulda just done this the easy way, which woulda ended with you in the puddles. **

“S-Stop that…” His breathing began to slow down, his limbs feeling so heavy he probably wouldn’t have been able to move them if he was able to.

**That woulda been unfortunate for you, but no loss for me. **

There was… someone. He was trying to get back to someone, right? Her face... Her smile… It was quickly fading.

**But I decided to be nice! This way, you don’t have’ta suffer, I get what I want, it’s a win-win!**

He was trying to get home… but that didn’t make sense. Wasn’t he home now? It was getting hard to think clearly. 

**So just be happy I was feelin’ generous, dear Creator. **

There was a flicker of dread in his stomach. _ But why? _ There had to have been a reason, but he was just so tired… 

**It’s alright now, just take a little nap. You can figure it out tomorrow. There’s no need to worry about it. **

The voice had changed pitch, now taking on a softer and more reassuring tone. Where had he heard it before? His eyelids fluttered, each blink taking just a little longer. With a gentle sigh, they finally closed.

**Sweet dreams, Henry.**


	2. Not Quite Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Took me a little while, but here it is!

The towering 7-foot tall demon stood in the center of Henry’s former prison. Ink began dripping off his skeletal form, pooling beneath him before sinking through the floorboards. His smile was strained as the rest of the ink making up his body began to shift. A few minutes later, a perfectly on-model Bendy was standing there. 3-and-a-half feet tall, perfect bow tie in the center of his chest, and two white gloves. 

The demon’s smile grew tenfold. He pulled at the bow tie, grinning down at it. 

“That’s more like it!” He was slightly surprised to find that his voice no longer held that distorted echo. His gaze shifted to the body slumped against the wall, pale and lifeless, dark crimson oozing from a gaping hole in his chest. 

“I gotta say, Henry. Ya sure know how to put up a fight. I’d ‘magine it’d have been worse if, say, ya still had a certain wolf to rescue.” He sighed. “That Angel is quite a $@&#%.” The sound of a car horn blasted out of his mouth instead of the intended expletive. He froze for a moment, then let out a laugh. 

“Ha! Wasn’t expecting that. But hey, if dat’s the price you gotta pay.” He snapped his fingers, turning toward the wall. He stepped through the inky portal that appeared, depositing him in the Administration Offices. 

“Now, I coulda sworn…” He turned a corner, finding a certain pair halfway down the hall, facing away from him. 

The one who shared the likeness of the studio's most hated creature turned, sword in hand. She let out a small gasp, which caused her companion to turn as well. He growled, teeth exposed, gripping his axe with both hands. 

“Well well well, if it ain’t exactly who I’ve been lookin’ for!” If the angel could have looked any more surprised, she would have. 

“You?! You’re… you’re—”

“Perfect!” He chirped. “It’s been a long time comin’, I’ll be honest, but here we are!”

“B-but— How?? That shouldn’t be possible!” she stammered. The wolf put a hand on her shoulder, pulling firmly and letting out another growl without breaking eye contact with the demon. 

“It’s simple, doll, I just needed one thing. And you left him as a present for me!” He laughed, the sound echoing through the halls. Her shocked expression slowly morphed into one of horrified realization as she understood exactly what he meant. 

“I really should be thankin’ ya! But…” he frowned. “You two are _ real _ annoying. All this runnin’, hidin’, escapin’, killin’ Angel-Face over there when I wanted to be the one to do that…” he gave them a disappointed look before it was replaced by a grin.

“Some time in the puddles should cool ya off, though!” He started forward, a cheerful spring in his step. Alice pressed her lips together, tightening her grip on the sword, and the Boris finally stepped forward, axe in hand and growling. 

Bendy waved his gloved hand, and without warning, thick, bubbling ink began to seep from the walls and drip from the ceiling. Al and Tom inched closer together to keep from touching the stuff, which was quickly blocking off the hall behind them. As he reached the halfway point of the long hall, Tom suddenly lunged forward, axe raised. Bendy let out an amused _ tsk _. A dozen Searchers abruptly sprung out of the foul black liquid, mouths gaping, deformed claws reaching for anything that happened to be moving. The wolf was forced to stop as they clawed at his ankles and slash through their bloated bodies with his weapon, but for every defeated Searcher that dissolved into the ink, two more took its place. Though most of them were focused on Tom, just enough broke away from the rest to attack Al and keep her too busy to help her companion. 

A startled cry of “Tom!” could be heard over the gurgling groans as the wolf was finally overpowered by the creatures and fell to the ink-slicked floor, his axe clattering out of reach. Bendy brought a hand to his mouth in a mock yawn as the Boris clone was buried under a writhing mass of bodies. He side-stepped around the pile of Searchers, making his way closer to the angel who was still fighting off several of the creatures at once, genuine fear in her eyes as the ink seeped closer. He smirked to himself a little. This had been even easier than he’d anticipated. 

He reached her just as the last Searcher receded into the floorboards, and in one fluid motion, the tip of her blackened sword was between his eyes. 

Grin never wavering, he regarded the sword in his face for a moment before glancing past it at the angel. “C’mon, let’s put that away, eh?”

She glanced past him toward where her companion was still struggling. He wasn’t dead yet, but at this rate, it wouldn’t be long.

“Let him go.” She kept her voice carefully under control, though he didn’t miss the slight tremor that shook her words. 

“Look doll, I really don’t think you’re in the place to be makin’ demands right now. Why don’tcha put that away, and we can have a nice, civil conversation!”

She looked behind him again. “You’re going to kill him!” This time, a note of panic colored her words, though her sword never wavered from its position.

“Pshh, me?” He held up both hands. “I haven’t touched nobody!” 

“You know exactly what I mean, now call off your little pets,” she all but snarled, pressing the tip of her weapon against his forehead.

“Bah, you’re no fun. ‘Sides, is that any way to talk about your former co-workers?”

“Huh?” she asked, taken off guard.

“Ya know, the mutt wasn’t all that bad back in the day,” he rambled casually. “A little on the gruff side maybe, and a little more naive than he shoulda been, but hey! Ain’t like it matters much anymore, eh? What’s done is done!”

“What on earth are you talking about?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes. 

“Like I said, it don’t much matter anymore. But anyway, I’m bored of this already.” Bendy clasped his hands behind his back and took a step backwards. 

“What are y-” Her demanding question was cut off as a rumble that shook the studio caused her to lose her balance. There was a roar, one that seemed far-off in the distance, but was quickly growing louder. She whirled around, and her eyes widened as she watched a massive wave of ink surge around the corner. 

~~~

This was it. Al was going to end up back in the puddles, and there was nothing she could do about it. She threw a glance back at Tom. All she could do was hope he remembered her when they both got back out. She hoped she’d remember him as well. 

“I’m sorry, Tom,” she murmured as she braced herself for the wave to reach them. “And-” She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach when she thought about Henry. The demon was right. If she had just been less of a coward, things would have been different. She closed her eyes tightly as the wave towered over her.

“I’m sorry, Henry.” 

  
  


For a long moment, nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see the wall of ink completely motionless. Frozen midair. The hazy yellow light reflected off the viscous liquid, and any other time, any other place, the sight would have amazed her. But with her heart pounding in her ears, hands gripping her sword handle so tightly her fingers hurt, she allowed herself a brief moment of relief before turning to face the most feared creature in the studio. 

Who had a strained look on his face, both hands gripping his chest.

“The &@%$?” he managed, though what sounded like a- bicycle bell? -replaced what was undoubtedly an obscenity. She inched forward, trying to distance herself from the tidal wave of ink without getting to close to the demon. He didn’t even seem to notice, though, just staring straight ahead. She started to step around him when his face contorted, expression unrecognizable, and his head snapped to face her. 

“Go,” he blurted, voice just as strained as his face. She stopped in her tracks.

“What?”

“Did I stutter? Go!” he forced out through gritted teeth. She didn’t waste a single second. She turned toward where Tom had fallen, to find that the Searchers were gone, along with most of the ink they brought with them. He was in bad shape though. She crouched down to help him up, and he got up shakily. As he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they started as quickly as possible down the hall, Al cast a glance backward to find that the demon’s expression was one of pure rage. The towering wave, rather than flooding the hall, sunk into the floor. 

“Dammit, go back to sleep old man,” he snapped, though it didn’t seem like he was talking to them. Al urged her companion faster, and it seemed as though he was recovering quickly. 

As they made their way out of the Administration Offices, she had a sneaking suspicion that Henry wasn’t truly gone, as Bendy had implied. 

  
  


~~~

  
  


“I’m sorry, Henry.” 

The soft voice echoed endlessly, dragging Henry from a deep slumber. _ Henry. _ That was him, wasn’t it? He groggily opened his eyes, blinking blearily. However, what he saw caught his attention. Something that resembled a massive screen was before him, with an endless black void surrounding him. The ‘screen’ displayed a strange scene: a woman was facing away from him, standing in the middle of a long hallway, and less than a dozen feet further down the hall was a massive floor-to-ceiling wave of what looked like ink. At first it seemed as though it was a still picture, however after a few moments it became apparent that everything was moving, just very slowly. Like it was happening in slow motion. 

_ How strange _, he thought to himself tiredly. He may have drifted off again, if not for the questions that manifested themselves in his mind.

_ Was it her that said that? _

_ Who is she? _

_ Why did she apologize? _

_ Why is she so familiar? _

“Was she my friend?” he murmured, shaking his head to wake himself up a little. He felt the need to find the answers to these questions, like they were important. It was like the answers were on the tip of his tongue, he just couldn’t quite reach them. But a friend… that didn’t quite feel right. Close, but not quite. 

He lifted his gaze, studying her features again. He couldn’t see much as she was facing away, but… no, she wasn’t just a woman. She had small horns protruding from the sides of her head, and a headband over long black hair. A word appeared in his mind suddenly. _ Toon. She’s a toon. _ It felt like he was chipping away at a dam, that if he just did so enough that it would break. _ Is her name Alice? That doesn’t quite feel right either. _

He refocused his attention on the tidal wave of ink. It had maybe moved a few feet in the time he’d spent pondering. Why was she looking at it, though? She seemed almost alarmed. _ Because she can’t touch the ink, _ he realized. _ Alice told me that. Wait… Not her. There’s another…? _ He frowned. Something made him want to go back to sleep. To stop asking questions, just go back to his tranquil slumber. But he couldn’t, not when he was so close.

It was then he realized that the wave was going to wash over her in a matter of seconds. Why did time feel like it was moving so slowly, anyway? It didn’t matter. Was there any way he could help her? 

_ Maybe I can stop the ink _, he thought suddenly. He immediately shook his head. What a ridiculous idea. Why would he be able to do something like that? That didn’t even make sense. But some deep part of him promised that he could. He didn’t understand the strange feeling, but knew he had to try. He knew that they’d known each other somehow, and he couldn’t just sit there and fall asleep, knowing she’d die. 

_ It’s now or never. Here goes nothing… _

He focused all of his concentration on making the wave stop. To just stand still. He wasn’t sure what else to do. He could only concentrate on what he wanted to happen, while ignoring the fact that every part of his body seemed to be insisting he go back to sleep. 

And somehow, suddenly, it worked. It was hard to tell for a moment, as it had been moving so slowly before, but it truly stopped just a few inches from the woman’s face. Without warning, everything seemed to speed up to a normal rate, and she turned to face him. She looked surprised, yet wary and suspicious. Suddenly, a voice spoke loudly.

“The &@%$?” A bicycle bell replaced the second word, but he could still by the tone of voice that whoever had said it was pissed. Who said it? And why did the sound of their voice send shivers of ice creeping down his spine? Wait...

**What the hell just happened?** A voice asked in disbelief, though this time it echoed through the void rather than coming from the ‘screen’. However, just as those words were uttered, the ‘screen’ abruptly went dark. 

**How hard is it for a guy to kill a couple’a pests, eh?**

_ Kill? _ He knew then that, without a doubt, whoever the voice belonged to had ill intentions. He may not have been friends with the woman whose name he wasn’t sure of, but he knew they were on at least relatively friendly terms, and he couldn’t just sit there and let something bad happen to her. But first he needed to be able to see what was going on!

He concentrated on turning that screen thing, whatever it was, back on. It worked last time, after all. After just a few short moments, it flickered and returned. The familiar woman was inching her way around him. With a frown, he concentrated on the ‘screen’ following her movements. To his surprise, it did. She watched him warily as she made her way around him. Why was she looking at him like that, anyway? Was she scared of him or someth—

  
  


In that instant, he remembered. 

  
  


“Go,” he blurted. Al froze, staring at him in disbelief.

“What?” 

“Did I stutter? Go!” he exclaimed. This time she seemed to get the memo, and she wasted no time in running down the hall. 

All at once, the ‘screen’ when dark again, and a furious voice snapped at him. 

“Dammit, go back to sleep, old man.” 

“Not a chance,” he said under his breath. Bendy was clearly far more powerful now, what with whatever he did to him. He couldn’t let him hurt Al and Tom, regardless of the fact that they were the reason Henry was in this mess in the first place. He didn’t really hold it against them. He didn’t blame them for getting out of there ASAP to avoid possibly getting killed. Even if death wasn’t permanent for ink creatures, it surely couldn’t be pleasant. A thought occurred to him. Bendy seemed to be able to manipulate ink now somehow, so did that mean he possibly had the power to keep someone dead for once? Whatever the case, he couldn’t let Bendy get anywhere near the two. However, the one in question almost seemed to read his mind. 

**Alright, how’s this.** The words came from all around him this time. **I won’t touch either of them. Not the mutt, not the angel. Capisce?**

“Yeah, like I believe you.” He narrowed his eyes, hardening his resolve not to drift off again. 

**Henry, Henry, Henry, are you insinuating that I’m a liar? Now that’s just hurtful. Now I may exaggerate here an’ there, but I’d ** ** _never, _ ** **ever lie to ya.**

“As if—”

**Ah-ah, I’m bein’ honest. Down here, we hate liars. ** ** _One_ ** ** in particular.** His tone dropped to something a little more sinister, a little more hate-filled. Henry fell quiet, remembering Bendy’s reaction the last time he mentioned Joey. He decided he could return to the topic if he needed to, but there were still other questions weighing on his mind. Questions he really should ask before he gave in to both his mind and body’s incessant demand to sleep. 

“So, are you going to tell me what you did, exactly? Because if not, you’re hiding the truth. Which is just as bad as lying, isn’t it?” 

**Geez, ya really don’t have to be like that, I was gonna tell ya anyway. **

“Well?”

**Didn’t say I was gonna do it right now. **

“Are you kidding me?”

**Hey, I got stuff ta do. Ya think this was some spur-of-the-moment idea? I’ve had thirty years to plan this.**

“And you’ve been planning to kill Al and Tom for thirty years?”

**Eh, that was mostly just icin’ on the cake. I got bigger fish to fry. **There was silence for a few moments. Henry found himself rather content with Bendy’s answer, or lack thereof, and reminded himself not to get too comfortable with… whatever was going on.

“Well, I’m not just going to sit here. I want an explanation.” 

**Gah, fine, I guess. Long story short, I used your soul to make myself perfect.**

“You… what now?”

**Yeah, I figured you’d probably be pretty much gone or at least unable to actually do anythin’, so I guess it was a surprise for the both of us. **

Henry didn’t know what to say to that. How was that even possible? It had to be a trick, right? But then again… 

“You know what? Sorry I asked. But... why haven’t you put me to sleep again?”

**Well, it was significantly easier last time. You were tired, beat up, and subconsciously wanted it anyway since you didn’t have anyone ta rescue anymore. Now, you’re downright determined not ta cause ya want to protect those two. I still could do it if I wanted to, but I guess I don’t have much of a reason right now. **

“You going soft? ...Or maybe starting to feel bad or something?”

**Haha, in your dreams, old timer! And ‘sides, remorse is a human thing. **

Henry didn’t say anything for a few moments, pondering this. Then, he attempted to see through Bendy’s eyes again. It worked, revealing an unfamiliar hallway before it went dark again about two seconds later.

**Stop that,** he said, sounding slightly annoyed. 

“Where are you going? Er, we…?”

**You’ll find out soon enough.**

Henry sighed inwardly. This was going to be very… interesting... to say the least. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I'm explaining things alright, but if you have questions, go ahead and ask! I know I glossed over some things but I rewrote this chapter so many times until I was happy with it, so anything I missed here will probably still be explained later.


	3. Let's Be Reasonable Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had fun writing this one. I love writing dialogue. It's so difficult but the end result can be so satisfying.
> 
> (I'm also posting at 1am without proof reading so ignore typos...)

Henry considered himself a pretty laid-back guy. He was level-headed and usually the one to stay calm in a tense situation, and anyone who met him would agree. However, he was pretty much at the end of his rope. He’d survived things these past few days that were straight out of a nightmare. No, worse than any nightmare that any sane person could come up with. And because of that, he didn’t want to really believe that Joey could be responsible for this… madness. Joey Drew? The man he’d once considered his best friend? His ideas could be extravagant at times, sure. Building an amusement park when you clearly didn’t have the money to do so? Henry could definitely see Joey doing that. But he’d never imagined he could just go off the deep end like that.

Although Henry had to admit, there had been signs. Ones he should have noticed. Like how he became more and more distant after Henry returned from the front lines in Europe. When he came back to the studio, he realized that the Joey he knew was nowhere to be seen. He worked everyone so much harder, was so much harsher toward the employees, and everyone was so unhappy. There had been pay cuts, budget cuts, and layoffs. He and Joey had an argument the day he got back.

And, although it’d been the hardest decision he’d ever had to make, Henry decided it was time to turn the page. He’d left and gotten a less demanding job, one that allowed him to spend time with his wife, to start a family. 

Despite that, he couldn’t possibly believe that this could happen, that this was all because of Joey. But it was hard to not believe something when the facts were staring you in the face. 

**Hate ta pull you outta your reminiscing, old man, but that’s just a fact down here. He’s the one responsible for all’a this. **

“But… why?” he asked helplessly, even though he could already guess the answer. Joey was an ambitious man. Doing something like this? Literally achieving the impossible? It would be a dream come true. But the Joey _ he _ knew would stop once he realized what it would cost. 

**Well, he’s not really ‘the Joey you knew’ anymore, is he? **

After a moment, he dipped his head, replying glumly, “Yeah, guess you’re right.” 

**But geez, would it kill ya to lighten up a little?**

“Really? You’re telling me to lighten up after everything I’ve been through?” 

Bendy let out a burst of laughter.

**After everythin’ ** ** _you’ve_ ** ** been through?! ** He snickered loudly. **After everythin’ he’s been through, he says. Pfft, everythin’ he- Listen pal. I really don’t think ya have the clout to be complainin’. ‘Cause ** ** _you’re_ ** ** one of the lucky ones. ‘Cause Henry, ** he sneered, ** _You don’t even know the meanin’ of sufferin’_ ** **.**

Henry immediately felt ashamed. Bendy was right. Absolutely and completely. He could have it _ so _ much worse, especially considering the fate that befell hundreds of other innocent souls. 

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he mumbled quietly. He shook his head. While his circumstances were certainly not ideal, he truly couldn’t complain. Not with what happened to all his former co-workers, his former _ friends _. 

“Guess what I meant was with everything that’s happening…” he murmured, even quieter than before. Neither said anything after that for a while.

~~~

“I know the studio is big, but where are we going that’s taking so long? Don’t you have ink portals or something?”

**Impatient much? Portals use my energy, ‘ight? And I’m still gettin’ used to, well, ** ** _this_ ** **. **

“Speak for yourself. At least you expected it.” 

**Well it wasn’t ‘sposed to be like ** ** _this_ ** **. ** ** _This _ ** **I wasn’t exactly expectin’. **

“Oh boo-hoo.” Henry rolled his eyes. Bendy scoffed, but didn’t say anything. After waiting another few minutes in the dark, Henry attempted to see through Bendy’s eyes again. The ‘screen’ appeared with much less effort this time. Before him, it displayed a hallway, but one he recognized. It was… Somewhere he’d gone through while trying to rescue Boris. Surprisingly, Bendy didn’t immediately stop him like last time, but he didn’t dwell on it, let alone say anything. Instead, he focused his attention on the screen. Trying to absorb every detail. He saw how it moved up and down slightly, as Bendy had the slightest bounce in his step. He could almost feel his legs moving step by step, even though they were shorter than he was used to. He could almost feel Bendy swinging his arms just a bit as he moved along at an easy, relaxed pace. He could almost feel the horns on his head and his gloved fingers. 

It was a rather strange feeling, honestly, and Henry wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. 

It was when he twitched his fingers that everything abruptly stopped. 

**Woah!**

The screen went out like a light, the strange feeling was jerked out of him as harsher than the rip cord on a lawn mower, and it felt as though he was physically shoved backward. 

**Woah, woah, woah, woah, ** ** _woah, WOAH! _ ** **That’s ** ** _enough_ ** ** of that! **

“Huh? Enough of what?” Henry questioned, confused. Bendy shuddered.

** _That_ ** **. Do ** ** _not_ ** ** do that again, got it?**

“Wait, what did I-”

**Just. Don’t. **He said firmly. Henry frowned, still puzzled by Bendy’s reaction, until he put two-and-two together. At that, his eyes widened. 

“Are you saying that-”

**I ain’t sayin’ nothing! Just- Just ** ** _please _ ** **don’t do that again. **

“...Did you just say please?”

**Shut up. Just shut up. I ain’t just spewing horse-hockey here, ‘kay? I mean it. **

Henry sat there for a moment, feeling rather caught off-guard. On one hand, he could honestly say that he’d never seen Bendy more upset. On the other, well… Maybe he wasn’t just stuck completely. Maybe, if he played his cards right… Well, he’d just have to see where this went. Because now things were getting interesting. 

Out of curiosity, he tried to turn the screen back on, but nothing happened. Not even a flicker. 

**Ha, like I was gonna let you do it again. I told you not to, remember? **The mocking tone of the gibe didn’t entirely hide the underlying tension in his voice, though. 

Henry rolled his eyes, smirking slightly. At least now he knew he wasn’t entirely helpless. Suddenly, the screen turned on. 

**Voila! Here we are! **

In front of him was a door. 

“Where are we?” he asked. Bendy answered by turning around and looking at the floor, showing him a massive hole just a few inches beyond his feet. It took him a moment to figure out where they were.

“Isn’t this that staircase?”

**Yes, Henry, it’s ‘that staircase’,** he scoffed, turning again and reaching an arm out to open the door. It swung open easily, and beyond it was a narrow, metal spiral staircase leading upward. The walls were nothing more than rough dirt, with some rocks here and there. 

**Service tunnel!** He supplied cheerfully. **It’ll take us straight outta here.** He started up them, taking the creaky metal stairs two at a time despite the fact that his legs were so short. Approximately ten minutes later, he reached the top, although he seemed no more tired than before he’d started. At the top of the stairs was a small room, though it seemed a bit bigger because of his size. There were narrow hallways that stretched out to the left and right of them, but Bendy’s attention was focused on what was in front of them. In front of them was a wooden step ladder underneath a door similar to that of a cellar door. Rays of bright sunlight shone through the cracks in the rotting wood, the luminous glow almost blinding after the perpetual dimness of the studio. 

Bendy stepped forward, eyes fixated on the soft golden sunlight.

“It’s about time,” Bendy muttered out loud. Henry watched eagerly. He put his arms up toward the cellar door to push it open, but as soon as his fingers made contact with the wood, he jumped back with a yelp. 

“What? What happened?” Henry asked quickly. Why did his fingertips hurt all of a sudden?

“You gotta be kiddin’ me.”

“What is it?”

“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” he repeated, chuckling a little.

“You better tell me right now what the issue is or so help me-”

“I can’t. I still can’t leave.” His voice was flat, disbelieving.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think I mean?!” he shouted, a hint of hysteria to his voice that made him a little nervous. “That was the only reason I did all this! I thought- It was supposed to- With _ you _ here, I should be able to stroll on outta this place, no problemo! I just don’t get it!” He slapped his hands over the sides of his head, sinking to his knees. 

“This wasn’t supposed to happen, this wasn’t supposed to happen, this-”

“Is it because you’re make of ink? ...Is that the reason you can’t leave?” Henry asked slowly. 

“There’s a little more to it than that, but that’s the gist of it, yeah.” he said bitterly. 

“So you’re saying that neither of us can leave?”

“Wow, congratulations! You got it! Wanna cookie?” 

“So I’m stuck here? Whether I like it or not, I’m stuck here with you, because you thought ‘HEY! Instead of having a conversation with the dude, I’m going to _ freaking murder him! _ That sounds like a _ great _ idea!’” Though it started low, his voice was a shout by the time he was finished. 

“Well ya know what? You're- GAH!” Whatever Bendy was about to say was interrupted by a cry of pain.

In that same instant, an intense pain shot through the back of Henry’s head. By the time he blinked the stars out of his eyes, Bendy had turned and was face-to-face with none other than Tom. He was holding his axe, the blade of which was slick with ink. And just as suddenly as it started, the pain disappeared. Henry only had a fraction of a second to worry about feeling the same pain as Bendy before Tom readied to swing again, but that wasn't enough time for him to even consider reacting in any physical as Tom swung the axe and Bendy grabbed it just below the head. 

“What are ya doin’ all the way up here, mutt?” Bendy sneered, pushing back against the axe with equal force. Though he was small, he was strong. Even stronger than Tom, even with the wolf’s metal arm. He just growled in response, then pulled backward suddenly, nearly causing Bendy to lose his balance. The split second was all that was needed for Tom to swing again, but Henry forced himself to intervene. He allowed the feeling from before to permeate his limbs, but only with the intention of getting Tom to stop fighting. 

“STOP! Tom, it’s me, Henry,” Henry yelled through Bendy’s mouth. 

Tom hesitated. Was it because he didn’t want to kill Henry or he was just confused by the situation in general? It could easily be either one, but Henry didn’t care at the moment. Even if Tom disliked him enough to leave him for dead, he still couldn’t just let him and Bendy kill each other. Henry jerked backwards just enough to get out of the way of Tom’s axe, and he had just enough time to do so before control was jerked away from him again. 

**What did I tell you about doing that?!**

“Please, just wait a minute, you don’t have to kill him!” Henry pleaded.

**What? The mutt’s literally askin’ for it! And if he wants a fight, a fight is what he’s gonna get!**

Growling, Tom lunged toward them, but suddenly a voice rang out. 

“Tom, wait!” The wolf stopped, barely, not turning toward the owner of the voice, but still stopping for just a few precious moments. Al emerged from one of the hallways, sword in hand, staring at them. 

“Henry?” She asked cautiously, watching him warily.

It was Bendy that replied, “Aw come on! See what’s happened now, they’ve got the big idea that you’re the one in charge here, but it’s clearly me,” he complained.

“Yeah, it’s mostly you, but I’m here too, whether you like it or not. Now can everyone just calm down a second? We don’t have to fight.” Henry said out loud, much to Bendy’s annoyance. Al paused, raising both eyebrows. 

“We can all be reasonable, here, can’t we?” Henry continued. Tom just snorted, and Al gave him a pointed look. 

“Hey, Bendy doesn’t actually hate you two all that much, and he certainly doesn’t-”

“Okay, _ blabber-mouth, _ why don’tcha put a sock in it?” Bendy huffed, clearly chagrined. 

“Right…” Al said slowly, giving them a scrutinizing stare. Tom growled again, but Al stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“We can be reasonable, can’t we, Tom?” She asked. Tom gave her a disbelieving look. “As long as _ he _ can be reasonable.”

“Reasonable my foot,” he muttered. “The mutt tried ta go an’ off me, I don’t think I need to be the reasonable one here. I was just returnin’ the favor.”

“Well I certainly think we should be able to come to an agreement,” Henry insisted.

**Can ya ** ** _please _ ** **stop doin’ that? It’s really gettin’ on my nerves.**

“You think I’m going to just sit here and watch?” Henry asked him inwardly.

“Well maybe I don’t feel like coming to an agreement,” Bendy huffed, speaking out loud again. 

“Looks like it’s not us you need to convince,” Al said, giving them a small frown. 

“And it ain’t like wolfie over there is gonna keep any sorta ‘truce’ anyway, so what’s stoppin’ me from killin’ both of you right now?”

“Me.” Henry said flatly. “I’m stopping you.”

“Ha! Wanna bet?” Bendy snapped his fingers, and a dozen Searchers sprung out of nowhere. However, none of them moved, the creatures simply surrounded the wolf and the angel, cutting off the hallway behind them. 

“I could kill ‘em both if I wanted ta, and you wouldn’t be able to stop me if you tried.”

“Henry, I know you mean well, but maybe you shouldn’t challenge an egotistical maniac who could end us both with a snap of his fingers?” Al asked, eyeing the Searchers.

“Challenge?” Henry asked.

“Egotistical?!” Bendy exclaimed.

Without warning, there was a screech of feedback, and the PA system crackled to life. Then, there was a voice that Henry would have been happy to never have to hear again. 

“My, my, my! Isn’t this just a sight I never thought I’d see?” 


	4. Things Are Changing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly shorter chapter, but nonetheless, here it is! Meant to get it out a little earlier, but I've been rather busy with the holidays and all that.

“I mean, first of all, the wanna-be and her little Boris friend hardly _ ever _ wander up this far,” Alice said mockingly. “I mean, it’s only been what, a few days? You two got cocky rather quickly… And then, of course, there’s the obvious. The filthy demon gets exactly what I’ve been trying to attain for who knows how long! How… _ typical. _” Her tone was one of disdain and disgust. Meanwhile, everyone in the room was unmoving, gaze lifted upwards as the Angel’s voice echoed through the PA system. 

So much had been going on that Henry had almost completely forgotten about Alice. She had been killed by Al, but he somehow managed to overlook the fact that she’d return eventually. 

“It really isn’t fair, is it? That I work so hard to become perfect, and _ he _ gets it instead.” But she certainly was back, and with a vengeance, it seemed. 

“Although! I _ do _ wonder… Where’s my little errand boy? You two didn’t dispose of him already, did you? Or was he torn limb from limb by that wretched Ink Demon? Or~” She let out a short laugh. “Is poor, unfortunate, little Henry the very reason he’s perfect in the first place?” Henry said nothing, just grimacing inwardly. “I thought as much! Perhaps I should’ve kept him around…”

“Looks like Angel-Face managed to drag herself outta the puddles and slither back into her little sanctuary when no one was watching, eh? Least it’ll be even simpler to get rid’a her this time,” Bendy said, rolling his eyes. The Searchers has disappeared during her little rant, though he wasn’t sure if they left of their own accord or not. For a moment, Henry thought that Alice might lose her temper and yell at them. But instead, she just laughed. 

“I may be back, but believe me when I say this, _ things are changing _ . At this very moment, in fact. I’m not going to bore you with the details, but remember… _ watch your backs. _” She finished smugly, and Henry could imagine her smirking at them. She sure enjoyed knowing something they didn’t. 

Bendy turned back to Tom and Al, who were still on edge, Tom especially, although at least now it didn’t look as though he was on the verge of attacking them. Al was the first to speak. 

“You know what? Henry’s right. We should, well, maybe not team up per say, but truce at the very least. Especially now that the Angel’s back and as dangerous as ever.”

“Speak for yaself,” Bendy scoffed. “It ain’t like she can touch _ me. _”

“Bendy, she has a point,” Henry started, not speaking so the others could hear. “At least until we can figure out a way to get out of here. Alice is holding something over our heads, and that something is probably going to be a threat. And I _ know _ you can handle yourself, but like you said, you’re still getting used to this.”

Bendy paused, listening, but didn’t didn’t reply, instead just continuing out loud.

“Although… I s’pose it’d be the logical thing ta do. Gah, fine. Long as the mutt watches it.” He glared at Tom, who in turn growled. Al turned to him. 

“Listen Tom, he’s willing to leave us be. You don’t have to like it, and you certainly don’t have to trust him. But right now, we’re deep in the Angel’s territory with no way out. I need you to leave them be too, okay? Please, you don’t have to trust either of them, but trust _ me.” _ Tom huffed, crossed his arms, and glared past Al toward them. Bendy rolled his eyes again. 

“You two love birds done yet?” He snorted.

“What?” Al questioned, giving him a confused look. Tom didn’t react other than a slight narrowing of his eyes. 

“Great!” Bendy clapped his hands together. “Let’s go, then!” He turned and started down the hallway. Al and Tom exchanged a glance before reluctantly following. 

~~~

“You’ve been quiet, Henry. Is everything alright?” Al asked after a while. They’d gone through the service tunnel a little ways before exiting into a different part of Level S. From there, they went down a route Henry hadn’t had access to before, which allowed them to go around Bendy Land. 

“Aside from the obvious, yeah, I’m alright,” Henry answered out loud. Thankfully, Bendy didn’t say anything. 

“Where are we going?” She asked. 

“I dunno, ask him.” Henry answered. 

“Where—”

“Shush, I’m thinking,” Bendy interrupted. 

“Thinking?” Al asked doubtfully. 

“Yes.” 

“About what?” Henry asked him inwardly. 

**Does it matter? **

“Well, kind of.” 

**If you must know, I need somethin’ from Joey’s office.**

“And where is that?” 

**Down in the Administration Offices.**

“Weren’t we just there?” Henry asked, raising an eyebrow. Bendy sighed.

**Yeah, but that was before I realized that gettin’ outta here wouldn’t be that easy. **

“What do you need?”

**Ugh, so many questions. A book.**

“... are you going to share any of this information with the other two?”

**Nope.**

“They want to know what’s going on as much as I.”

**Good for them.**

Henry just sighed. Why did he have to be so uncooperative? Well, whatever. It wasn’t worth making a big deal out of. He briefly wondered why Alice wasn’t talking to them whatsoever. Her constant monologuing had made it clear that she liked to talk, so the silence unnerved him, especially knowing that she was probably watching their every move. 

“Hey,” Bendy started, glancing back at an uneasy Al and Tom. “You guys wanna get there faster?”

“And what exactly would that entail?” Al asked after a moment’s hesitation. Bendy turned to face the two.

“Well, we could just use a portal.” He made a dramatic gesture at the wall, and an inky black void appeared.  
“No.” she said firmly. Tom nodded in agreement.

“Hey, it’ll be way faster, plus-”

“We’re not doing that,” she insisted. 

“Eh, fine, if ya just wanna walk the whole way, whatever.” He shrugged and kept walking, and the portal disappeared.

~~~

As they walked, Henry observed some interesting details that the others didn’t seem to have noticed, or at least didn’t say anything about. While most of the inky writing on the walls was the same, ‘The Creator lied to us’, ‘It’s time to believe’, ‘Dreams come true’, and similar meaningless phrases, there was one rather disturbing difference. In every spot that had previously had the phrase ‘He will set us free’, a single letter _ S _ had been added to the first word, making it read ‘She will set us free’ instead. And Henry honestly wasn’t sure what to make of it. 

They eventually made it to Joey’s office. In all honesty, Bendy was right; it would have been faster to use one of his portals, but he shared Al’s doubts as well. Who knows if the two toons would be able to survive a trip through, and none of them were really willing to try and find out. Except Bendy, of course. 

Bendy pushed the door open, and they all stepped into the dusty room. It looked different from when Henry had last seen it. Joey’s desk sat front and center like it always had, but on the wall behind it was the Joey Drew Studios logo. There were several awards adorning the cracking plaster walls here and there, and to the right was a bunch of concept art and whatnot taped on the wall. There was a sofa in the corner, some shelves, a few chests of drawers… But what caught Henry’s attention was a picture frame on the wall to the left of Joey’s desk. Inside the glass frame was the original concept art for none other than Bendy, signed by Henry himself. He smiled to himself as he caught sight of it- he’d first come up with the idea for Bendy a few years before he and Joey had opened the studio, and he had sometimes wondered what had happened to the very first character concept sheet. Well, he supposed that answered that question.

Bendy walked straight over to the picture frame as Al and Tom glanced around. He paused for a minute, looking at it. Then, to Henry’s surprise, he took it off the wall and tossed it behind them. He heard glass shatter as the frame hit the floor. 

“What did you do that for!?” He asked him, slightly offended. Bendy didn’t respond, but put his hand on the wall where the picture frame had been and pushed. A section of the wall the same size the frame had been slid into the wall with a click, and Bendy turned to show that a different part of the wall behind Joey’s desk was sliding open. 

Henry watched in amazement. Secret rooms, huh? Unexpected, to be sure, but he supposed it wasn’t entirely out of the question, all things considering. 

“Wow, I had no idea this was here,” Al marveled, peering through the doorway. 

“You guys stay out here, Henry and I’ll be right back,” Bendy said to the other two. Tom shook his head and stepped toward them, Al doing likewise. 

“Or not,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. However, before he went in the newly opened hall, he opened one of the drawers in Joey’s desk, pulling out a spiral notebook. He didn’t bother opening it though, simply held onto it before stepping through the dark opening in the wall, Al and Tom following close behind.

It was pitch black, but somehow Henry could tell that the floor sloped downward slightly. After about ten seconds of walking, Bendy flipped a light switch, illuminating a moderately small room. There were several bookshelves lining one of the walls, a large table covered in papers, a comfortable-looking couch, and some shelves laden with items and ingredients that were unfamiliar to Henry. He saw Al immediately walk over to one of the bookshelves, running a finger over the cover of an old book. Tom stayed put near the edge of the hallway, seemingly uninterested. And Bendy walked straight to the table. However, smack dab in the middle of the dusty surface was something he hadn’t noticed in his initial scan of the room: a single book. The cover was so black it almost seemed to absorb the light around it. The papers covering the table looked to be all sorts of different things: blueprints, notes, scribbled ideas, and the like. But his attention was drawn to the strange black book. Part of him itched for a closer look. Bendy unceremoniously dropped Joey’s notebook on the table, then carefully picked up the book. In that instant, the temperature seemed to drop several degrees, and a shiver went down his spine. 

“What’s that?” he said to Bendy after a few moments. 

**A book.**

“You know what I mean, why are you being so curt? What’s your deal?” Bendy sighed.

**It’s somethin’ Joey was messin’ around with, **he explained distastefully. 

“Where’d he find something like this, anyway?” All he received in response was a shrug. He opened the cover and began flipping through the pages, and Henry immediately felt a strong urge to read every last word. Every page held secrets, each page darker than the last. 

**By the way...**

Secrets that whispered of unimaginable power…

**Uh, yoo-hoo, Henry, you there?**

Everything he could ever need or want… 

**Hellooo?**

Right in the palm of his hand…

**Alright! That’s enough of that, I think. **

The book slammed shut with a crack, and Bendy dropped it on the table. Henry blinked.

“What the…?” 

**You silly humans. So easily corruptible! I s’pose you aren’t nearly as bad old Drew, but still! **He shook his head, picking up the strange book and Joey’s notebook before turning around. “Well, I gots what I needed. Let’s get outta here,” Bendy said. 

Al looked up from the dusty book in her hands and sighed, giving them a nod. However, Henry frowned. 

“We’ve all been through a lot. Could we stop for a couple hours, maybe get some rest?” Henry asked out loud. Al paused for a moment.

“I’d be fine with that,” she said, putting the book back onto the bookshelf. “Tom?” she asked, glancing at him. Tom huffed and shrugged. They both turned to look at Bendy. 

“I really don’t think we got time…” He hesitated. “But if _ you _ guys need sleep, whatever, I guess.” He put the two books back into the table and plopped down on the couch. “No touchin’ that, Henry,” he said firmly, waving his finger in the air. 

“I don’t plan on it,” Henry remarked. “That was… weird.” 

“What was weird?” Al asked, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch.

“Never mind, it doesn’t really matter.” They looked over at the doorway to see that Tom hadn’t moved.

“What, is the _ big bad wolf _ gonna stand guard, make sure I don’t do nothin’?” Bendy goaded. Tom growled and slapped the head of his axe against his palm. 

“Oh yeah, _ soooo scary _. I’m shaking in my boots.”

“Can you two cut it out?” The angel chided, looking from one to the other. “You’re acting like children.” They both turned to look at her, surprised. “Tom you can stand guard if it makes him feel better, but you _ both _ need to stop being so antagonistic toward each other. Just chill out.”  
“Chill out?!” Bendy exclaimed, sitting straight up. Tom tensed, but Al simply leaned backwards, seemingly calm. “Doll, I think ya need to remember who ya talkin’ to!” 

Al shook her head. “Yeah, I know. ‘Most powerful slash dangerous being in the studio’ and all that. But whether you realize it or not, you’ve changed.” 

“I- what?” he managed incredulously. 

“You’re definitely not just some emotionless monster that’s hell-bent on getting what you want at any cost, like you _ arguably _used to be,” she pointed out. 

“Wha- I don’t even-” He spluttered, standing up suddenly. “What happened to endin’ ya both with a snap of my fingers, huh? Did ya forget about that?” He took a step toward her, which was maybe supposed to be threatening..? It wasn’t all that effective, though, considering his size. Al shook her head again. 

“I honestly don’t think you’ll do it. Henry’s mellowed you out,” she stated calmly. Bendy groaned. 

“Great, thanks Henry, thanks to you everyone thinks I’m goin’ soft. I gotta reputation, ya know.”

“Um… Sorry?” Henry said, frowning slightly. 

“Truly, if you think you haven’t changed, even in the slightest, go ahead.” She propped her sword against the edge of the couch, then waved both hands. “Go ahead and kill us.” Tom, of course, looked at her like she was crazy, but she never broke eye contact with the demon. “Go on, do it,” she prompted. Bendy stared at her. 

“Well, I uh, ya know, I’d never hear the end of it from Henry if I hurt either one of you, and uh.. I just don’t feel like it,” he huffed, crossing his arms. Al gave a small nod, as if his reaction had only confirmed her suspicions, and rested her head against the back of the couch. 

Muttering angrily to himself, Bendy sat back down on the couch, arms still crossed. Henry just sat there in stunned silence, trying to figure out what the heck just happened. 

“Tom, you can wake me up in an hour or so, if you want,” Al murmured, eyes closed. Bendy shook his head, still irritated. Henry wondered whether the toon was tired at all. Even if he was, he’d certainly be the last to admit it. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn’t feel tired in the slightest. At least he didn’t have to worry about drifting off, never to awaken again. 

As Bendy closed his eyes, Henry took a moment to simply take a deep breath. When Alice had made herself known, he’d expected, well, he wasn’t exactly sure what he’d expected, but something bad at the very least. Things had turned out to be rather anticlimactic in that regard. But he had a strong feeling that they’d be seeing quite a bit more of her before too long. But for now, he supposed there was little harm in simply relaxing before things undoubtedly got even crazier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I really think things are starting to come together.
> 
> I like it :)
> 
> Have a happy New Year!


	5. Old Names, New Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was a bit slow getting this one out, but here it is! Oh boy, did I have fun writing this.

Henry sat in silence, simply lost in thought, though it wasn’t long before that strange feeling returned to his limbs. The first thing he did was turn on the ‘screen’. Tom was still over by the entry to the hallway, but he was leaning against the wall, head drooping, eyes closed. However, he was still holding his axe, and his ears were perked in his direction. Henry guessed that he most likely wasn’t sleeping very heavily, if at all. He shifted his gaze slightly and found that Al was still resting on the other end of the couch. She, on the other hand, seemed much more relaxed than her lupine companion. He let out a soft sigh, and Tom’s ears twitched. Whoops, he hadn’t exactly meant to do that out loud. But it struck Henry that Bendy hadn’t said anything yet. It was clear that the toon hated when Henry actually did anything, since it seemed to be a rather uncomfortable reminder that, what, things hadn’t gone according to plan? That Henry was physically able to do anything in the first place? Henry wasn’t entirely sure, but had a pretty good feeling that he was at least partly correct. 

Henry twitched his fingers, looking down to find the gloved hands that didn’t belong to him moving as well. He paused. The last time he’d done anything other than turn his head, Bendy had gotten rather, well, upset seemed like a bit of an understatement. However, he remained silent. Then it struck him. Was Bendy… asleep? He shook his head, letting out a disbelieving chuckle, shifting his weight slightly. This whole thing was so… weird and unnatural. He doubted that he’d ever get used to it. Looking up again, he found that Tom was glaring daggers in his direction. He lifted both hands defensively.

“It’s just me, Henry.” Tom looked unconvinced. He leaned forward to stand up. Geez, he was _ not _ used to his feet not touching the floor. He got to his feet and stretched his arms. The wolf growled at him, most likely a warning not to try anything. Why was Tom so unfriendly? I mean, there was the obvious- Bendy. But he had been hostile and untrusting of Henry long before all this happened. Did he truly have a reason, or was he just always like that? 

Henry opened his mouth to say something more, but Tom suddenly turned around and walked into the darkened hall, leaving him rather bewildered. He stood there for a moment before turning to Al. At least now they could talk without either Tom or Bendy bothering them… hopefully. 

“Hey Al, wake up,” he said gently, keeping his distance. He knew from firsthand experience that someone in her situation— having to run from or fight monsters at every turn —could become violent right after being woken up in the few seconds before they realize what’s going on. Especially if the one waking you up has the face of the creature that’s been hunting you for years. 

She stirred almost instantly, muscles tensing, hand already reaching for her sword as her eyes shot open. She didn’t get the chance to grab her weapon, though, as she saw him and froze. It was another moment before she relaxed, if only slightly. 

“Time to get going already?” she asked. 

“No, actually,” Henry said. “I think _ you-know-who _ is asleep.” She raised an eyebrow. 

“Is that so? Huh, I didn’t know he needed to sleep.” She glanced around, and her expression shifted into a slightly suspicious frown. “Where’s Tom?” 

“I’m not sure, he just left. He seems pretty serious about staying close to you, though, so I honestly don’t have a clue why,” he replied, glancing toward the empty hallway. Al smiled a little.

“That’s true, but he knows I can fend for myself. If he left, then I suppose that can only mean he’s starting to trust you.” 

“Trust me?” Henry snorted. “He sure doesn’t act like it.”

“Maybe trust is a small exaggeration… More like… slightly less suspicious of you.” 

“Why was he so distrustful of me in the first place? I didn’t do anything to either of you.”

“Well, it’s like I told you before. You’ve survived everything this place has thrown at you, and he knows you could do a lot of damage if you wanted. And that was before, well…” she gestured to him, her expression one of guilt. “And while we’re on that topic…” she sighed. “I’m sorry, Henry.” 

“Sorry?” Henry asked, frowning. “For what?” 

“I… I can’t help but feel responsible for what happened to you. I left you sitting in a cell with- with what we saw as an unpredictable, bloodthirsty monster right outside the door.” 

“Al, it wasn’t your fault.” 

“No, it was partly Tom as well. He wouldn’t help me let you out, but I should’ve tried to convince him a little longer. He would’ve eventually listened to me- I know he would have -then helped me let you out, then we all could’ve—” 

“Al, _ it wasn’t your fault,” _ he repeated. “The Ink Demon came mere moments after the two of you left. He would’ve killed both of you and this would’ve ended up happening to me anyway. Tom probably saved your lives by leaving me.” Henry explained. Al was quiet for a moment, seeming to be deep in thought, before reaching down and unclipping a strange device from her belt. Henry watched curiously as she held it in her hands, looking down at it. It looked to be a square metal frame with a pane of glass inside it, with a handle on one side and little lights lining the glass. 

“What’s that?” Al looked up at him.

“I call it the ‘seeing-tool’. With it, I’ve been finding all sorts of hidden messages all over the studio. When you look through it, you can find messages just sitting there, right in plain sight. I don’t know who’s been leaving them, or if Bendy knows about them.” She handed it to him. Henry held it up, turning slowly. Suddenly, as he looked through the glass, bright, golden words became visible on one of the walls. 

_ She won’t leave you again, _ he read to himself. His eyes lingered on the words a moment longer, then he turned to look at Al. 

“That’s really strange,” he murmured. Al nodded. Then, out of curiosity, he held up the seeing-tool again. To his surprise, a bright, golden halo appeared above her head. 

“Hm.” He handed her back the device, and she nodded. 

“I’d honestly let you hold onto it, but I don’t really want him to have it,” she admitted. 

“That’s understandable. Thank you for showing me, though.” 

“...you’re welcome, Henry.” Henry sat down on the couch. 

“So… what exactly did you mean by that? Earlier, when you said that he’d changed?” 

“You don’t have to be _ that _ observant to notice what I did. He’s been acting much more… I don’t know, reasonable? I mean, he hasn’t _ actually _ tried to kill either of us, only empty threats.”   
“How do you know they’re empty?”

“I don’t know, Henry. I can just tell.” Silence fell between the two for several moments.

“Oh, there’s something else,” Henry said. “Did you notice that writing on the wall?”

“There’s writing on the wall everywhere, you’ll have to be more specific.”

“In one of the hallways. Um, before passing your old hideout. It said ‘She will set us free’. Do you know what that’s supposed to mean?” Al shook her head.

“I saw it too, but I don’t know what it means, nor who wrote it.” 

All of a sudden, Bendy piped up.

“You two done yet?” Both Henry and Al jumped. 

“How long have you been listening?” Henry asked, startled. As he did so, he felt that feeling that came with control quickly fade, leaving him with nothing more than the screen. 

“Eh, just since the whole—” he raised his voice in a mocking imitation of Al, “—‘He hasn’t actually tried to kill either of us.’”

“And…?” Al asked slowly.

“And what? Hey, where’s the mutt at?” He asked, jumping up off the couch as he change the subject. Al shrugged. “Well, good riddance.” At that, Tom stepped into the room. 

“Ah great, he’s back,” Bendy sighed, rolling his eyes. Tom didn’t react, thankfully. “So! You guys ready to get movin’?” He asked, looking at the two toons. Tom shrugged, and Al nodded.

“Sure,” she said. 

“Alrighty then!” He turned, picked up the book and the notebook, and walked past the two and down the hall. Henry could tell by the footsteps behind them that Al and Tom were following. They entered Joey’s office, then stepped into the halls of the Administration Offices. Bendy paused, turning his head towards the other two.

“I know you already said no, but c’mon! It’s a long walk!”

“No portals,” Al said. “And it isn’t _ that _ far.”

“Easy for you to say, Al, you two have long legs,” Henry chuckled. 

“Shut up, old man.” Bendy turned and kept walking.

It wasn’t long before they were back in the part of the studio that was more or less controlled by the Angel. It also wasn’t long before she decided to make her presence known.

“Ah, if it isn’t our little band of intrepid adventurers. I was truly concerned as to whether I’d be seeing you three again- or, four, I should say. But~ I’ve been hard at work cooking up a little surprise for you.”

“Oh great,” Bendy groaned. “Another thing to get out of the way before I can actually leave.”

“Now, I’m not quite finished yet, but do stick around. I’m only waiting on a few more things now, so it shouldn’t be too terribly long of a wait.”

“Wonderful,” Al sighed. “What do you think it is?” 

“Psh, who knows. But we should keep moving unless you want to find out.”

“Good enough for me,” she murmured. They continued, and there was a creak, which Henry didn’t pay much mind, until it was followed by a loud crash and a shout. Bendy turned to see a gaping hole in the floor. Tom was on his hands and knees at the edge, axe abandoned on the floor next to him. 

“Al??” Henry asked. 

“Geez, is she alright?” Bendy mumbled, stepping slowly toward the hole. 

“I’m alright!” she called. “I’m fine!” Bendy glanced down the hole to see that Al was picking herself up off the debris-covered floor. Tom hadn’t moved, still staring down at her. 

“Tom, I’ll meet up with you guys in a little bit. I’ll be _ fine _, I have my sword.” Tom stood up suddenly, turning towards Bendy. 

“Chill out, we’ll find her,” Bendy said, turning in the direction they’d been going. “There should be a stairwell somewhere around here, though I’m not sure it goes to the level she—” Bendy was cut off without warning when Tom shoved him. 

“_ Excuse me?! _” He blurted, whirling around to face the growling wolf. Tom pointed at him, then at the hole. 

“What’re _ you _ goin’ on about? I didn’t do that! If I was gonna drop anyone through the floor, it’d’ve been you.” Tom took a step toward him, and Henry was about to intervene when someone else decided to. 

“Oh my, what an interesting turn of events!” The Angel laughed. “And I believe the little wanna-be angel fell down to the same floor as— well, I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise.” 

Bendy cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted toward the ceiling, “Can you stop talking for _ five minutes _? First off, nobody’s listenin’, and second, nobody cares!” 

“I think I liked you better when you couldn’t talk,” she spat, her voice laced with disgust. Bendy laughed.

“Oh, trust me Angel, I think we _ all _ wish _ you _ couldn’t talk.” Henry stayed silent, unwilling to get in the middle of this. Alice took a deep breath.

“You’re making me quite upset, do you realize that? You know that sort of thing is _ terrible _ for my complexion.” She let out a dramatic sigh, which caused a burst of static to emit from the hidden speakers. “I suppose I’ll just go do some stress-killing. _ Then _ I’ll finish my little... project.” 

“Oh, well, that’s great. You go do that then.” Bendy grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Alright, we should get goin’ before—” He turned toward where Tom had been standing, only to see that the hall was empty, aside from the gaping hole in the floor. 

“Um… where did he…?” Bendy stepped toward the hole, leaned over the edge, and glanced downward. There was a snort behind him, and he turned around to find Tom standing right behind him— a bit close for comfort. 

“You’d better watch it, mutt,” he fumed. “Better not forget who you’re dealin’ with. I’m _ unpredictable _, remember?” He stepped past Tom and started down the hall. He paused after a few seconds when Tom hadn’t moved. 

“Are you comin’ or what?” Tom still didn’t move. Henry decided to speak up, hoping that maybe he’d listen to him, rather than Bendy. 

“Tom, we’ll find her. I promise. But we should stick together, alright?” Henry said. After a moment, Tom gave something close to a sigh, before picking up his axe and starting down the hall towards them. 

“It’s about time. Wonder why he listens to you and not me.” Bendy said under his breath. 

“Because he doesn’t like you..?” 

“Pshh, why wouldn’t he like me? I’m a very likeable guy!”

“Um, yeah… sure.” 

They turned down a few more halls before Bendy opened a door.

“Alright! Stairwell! Hopefully these go down to—” Tom pushed past him, immediately starting down the stairs. Bendy sighed, following. They only made it down one flight of stairs when something caught Henry’s eye. A tape recording, sitting on a table in the corner. 

“Hold on, can we stop and listen to that recording?” he asked. Tom, who was already starting down the next flight of stairs, stopped. 

“If you want to listen to it, sure.” Bendy said, stepping toward the device and pressing ‘play’. A very familiar voice started talking. 

  
  


_ I just started working here. And, well, it’s not really off to a good start. I’m supposed to be the voice actress for Alice Angel— I thought it was funny when I started. You know, Alice, Allison… But when I was hired, I had no idea I was replacing someone. Her name’s Susie, and everyone says she’s a sweet girl. But she… well, she was really upset about me replacing her. I just feel terrible. But I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. Guess I’ll just keep going, just do my best, and see what other surprises this job has in store for me. _

As the tape clicked off, Henry’s eyes widened as he realized exactly who was talking.

The voice on the tape recording belonged to Al.

~~~

Al rubbed the shoulder she’d landed on as she slowly sat up. Glancing upward, she saw Tom staring down at her. 

“I’m alright!” she called, getting to her feet. “I’m fine!” She saw Bendy’s head appear over the side of the hole she’d fallen through as well, though Tom hadn’t moved. She could only imagine how upset he’d be at getting separated from her. “Tom, I’ll meet up with you guys in a little bit. I’ll be _ fine _, I have my sword.” Bendy turned, moving out of sight, and a few moments later Tom did as well. She breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully they wouldn’t be at each other’s throats. She glanced around for her sword, finding it very close to where she’d fallen, the blade buried deep in the rotting wood. Well, at least it hadn’t impaled her when it hit the ground. She bent down, wrapped her hands around the hilt, and pulled. It didn’t budge. Readjusting her grip, she tried again. Suddenly, it gave away, and she fell backwards. For a split second, she thought she’d succeeded, until she lifted her hand to find that she was holding the sword handle, and nothing more. 

“...Great,” she grumbled, her eyes traveling to the blade that was still embedded deep in the floorboards. “So I _ don’t _ have my sword, but it’s not like Tom needs to know that.” She dropped the handle and stood up. 

“Well this is great.” She glanced around. The decrepit halls weren’t ones she recognized, but at least there were no signs of Searchers or the Butcher Gang. Taking a deep breath, she stepped close to the wall and started down the hallway. 

“Why is it so quiet?” Al murmured to herself after several minutes. And it was. Aside from ink dripping in the distance, it was dead silent. Then, something broke the silence. The garbled nonsense of a Piper. Turning quickly, she saw it running toward her. Instinctively, she reached for her sword, only for her fingers to grasp at empty air. She stumbled backward as the Piper swung at her with its wrench, then turned and started sprinting down the hall, knowing she was much faster than it and not wanting to attempt to fight it unarmed. She could hear it coming after her, but liked she’d known, she was faster. After a few turns, she couldn’t hear it behind her anymore. Slowing down just a bit, she turned her head toward the hall behind her as she turned left at a fork in the hall. What she hadn’t expected, though, was to collide with someone, sending her straight to the floor. There was a clatter as half a dozen various machine parts fell onto the ground. 

“I’m so sorry, my angel,” a voice apologized quickly. “I didn’t see you come around the corner; my fault entirely.” An inky, black hand was extended toward her, and Al looked up to see none other than Sammy Lawrence.


	6. Several Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for two things: One, I haven't posted in nearly a month. And two, this chapter is kind of short. Really short, if I'm being honest. Which I am. :P
> 
> I really just wanted to post something because I've been having a severe shortage of motivation for the past couple weeks. Not really writer's block/a lack of inspiration, because I knew where I want the next few chapters to go, but I haven't been able to just... sit down and 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦. I dunno. ANYWAY- here's something. A short something, but something nonetheless. Enjoy.

As Al stared in utter shock at the figure above her, several things went through her mind. First, what was Sammy Lawrence, self-proclaimed prophet of the Ink Demon, doing here, of all places? Deep inside the Angel’s territory? Secondly, while he was still sporting nothing more than pants with suspenders, he wasn’t wearing his trademark Bendy mask, although she did notice an axe swinging from one of his belt loops. Finally, not only was the man not attacking her, he was… offering to help her up after knocking her to the floor? That was certainly what it looked like, as his hand was still outstretched, looking at her expectantly- well, as much as someone with few facial features could, anyway. Al hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to proceed, when Sammy frowned. 

“Wait a minute, you’re not her,” he said, sounding both perplexed and suspicious as he retracted his hand and took a small step backwards. Well, that made slightly more sense. Sammy hadn’t attacked her because he mistook her for someone else. But who? There was only one other ‘her’ in the studio, one she was unfortunate enough to look similar to, but that didn’t make sense, considering who Sammy was.

“No, I’m not her,” Al said slowly, watching closely for any sign of aggression as she got to her feet, her heart pounding. “You _are_ talking about Alice, right?” 

“Of course, who else would I be talking about, other than the studio’s beloved angel?” Sammy bent down, beginning to pick up the five or six machine parts he seemed to have dropped. 

“I thought you hated Alice? I mean, she and the Ink Demon are kind of rivals, and-” Sammy straightened, raising a hand to stop her.

“I’d rather you not speak of him,” he said, his tone sour. Al raised an eyebrow.

“Huh. You two don’t exactly see eye-to-eye anymore?” She asked. 

“I’m beginning to think we never did,” Sammy said bitterly, his fists clenched noticeably. “I did  _ everything _ for him! But he lied to me- he promised I’d be free, but the only thing I got in return for all my hard work was a snapped neck.” he spat, body growing more tense with each second. Al raised both hands in what she hoped was a placating manner. 

“Hey, calm down-” she started, only to be interrupted. 

“I  _ trusted _ him, and he stabbed me in the back! He-”

“Sammy!" Before she even had the chance to think about what she was doing, she stepped forward and placed both hands on the former music director's shoulders. "I understand that you’re angry, I do. You were wronged, it’s only natural that you’re upset. But you’re being extremely loud, and I’d rather not have to fight off an army of Searchers. How about we focus on something else? Why don’t you tell me about what you’ve been doing for Alice?” Al hoped desperately that appealing to his anger then changing the subject might calm the man down- might keep him from becoming aggressive. She didn’t have her sword if things went south, so it was better to keep things from going south in the first place. And it seemed to be working, as the other seemed to relax slightly.

“You’re right, of course. I apologize for the outburst,” he sighed. Al gave an internal sigh of relief and took a step backwards. In the next moment Sammy almost seemed to perk up. “Alice, on the other hand, actually rewards me for the things I do.” 

“What things does she have you do for her?” she asked. 

“Oh, all sorts of things. Right now I’m getting these spare parts for her,” he explained, nodding toward the parts he was holding. “Speaking of, I really should be getting back to level 9.” He turned and started down the hall. 

“Sammy wait!” She called, following after him. He paused, glancing back at her expectantly. She hesitated, unsure of whether this was a good idea, but after a moment she asked, “Why don’t you come with me instead?” Sammy turned to face her. 

“Are you suggesting that I abandon Alice?” he questioned, his words slow and deliberate. Al knew she was taking a huge risk here, but something told her that she just had to try. 

“Yes,” she said calmly. “Because as soon as she’s done having you do her dirty work, she’ll do the same to you.” Sammy’s expression was unreadable. He began to step towards her, empty hand straying toward his axe, but Al stood her ground. As he stood over her, he leaned in close, saying,

“Just a few days ago I would have killed you for saying something so… blasphemous.” His tone had an edge to it. “However, maybe it’s because I’m feeling generous, maybe it’s because you have been graced with her image, or maybe it’s because just a few days ago  _ I  _ was abandoned…” He straightened. “If you can prove that what you claim is true, I may consider believing you. But I suggest you choose your words wisely.” Al swallowed hard.

“Does the name ‘Henry’ mean anything to you?”

  
  
  


~~~

Henry stared in shock at the audio recording. Al’s name was Allison. All this time, she had no idea. 

“Well, you’ve listened to it, can we go now?” 

“How can you just say that?” Henry asked, eyebrows furrowing together. He glanced at Tom, who hadn’t moved, then back at the audio recording. “We have to tell her.” 

“Tell her what?” Bendy asked innocently.

“You know exactly what I mean.”

Bendy waved a hand nonchalantly. “Yeah yeah, whatever, we’ll tell her. But first we’ve gotta find her, dontcha think?” He snickered, turning back toward the stairs. Tom lingered a moment longer before turning as well and continuing. As they made their way deeper down, and hopefully closer to finding Al— er, Allison, Henry piped up. 

“Tom, you’ve been awfully quiet.” Tom paused and glanced back at him, cocking his head. “Quieter than usual,” he amended. The wolf shrugged and kept moving.

“I just mean, I figured you’d be a little more excited about finding out Al’s name. It seemed important to her, you know?” This time, Tom gave no reaction to his words, as if he hadn’t heard Henry. 

“Aren’t you at least somewhat excited to tell her? Won’t she be happy?” Still, he received no answer. Mildly exasperated at the wolf’s standoffish attitude, he asked, “Are you still upset about her getting separated from us? You know she can easily fend for herself for ten minutes. We’re going to find her. Or do you still think Bendy did it on purpose?” Tom’s fists clenched, though whether that was a yes or no, he wasn’t sure.

“Because he didn’t. I know from personal experience that the floorboards around this place aren’t exactly reliable. Heck, I fell a couple stories barely forty-five minutes after I got here, and Bendy had nothing to do with that.” The previously silent demon suddenly chimed in. 

“Weeeeeeell…” he said in an insinuating tone, tilting his head slightly. Henry paused for a moment.

“Are you serious?”

“Well hey, I couldn’t just let ya leave!” he exclaimed defensively. “Where would I be right now if that’d happened, eh?”

“I know where  _ I’d  _ be,” he muttered angrily. “At  _ home. _ With my  _ family. _ Not here.” 

“Pshhh, yeah, we know. ‘Oh, I miss my wife Linda  _ soooo  _ much! I wanna go see my family!’ Bah,  _ family _ . What could possibly be so good about ‘em?” Bendy scoffed, shaking his head. “What could possibly be  _ sooo  _ amazing about something I never- psh, never mind.” Henry was silent for a few moments before something clicked. 

“Wait a minute, Linda? I never... How did you-” 

“Well! This looks right,” Bendy said, cutting him off. He darted past Tom, who had completely ignored them, and swung open a door. To Henry’s surprise and immense relief, Allison was standing there with an expression that seemed to mirror the way Henry felt. One hand had been outstretched toward the door handle, and the other held an unfamiliar axe. However, whatever relief he’d been feeling drained away as he noticed an all-too-familiar shape was looming just a few feet behind her. 

Before anyone else had the chance to move, he blurted, “Behind you!”


	7. A Temporary Truce Or A Continuing Companionship?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D I A L O G U E

Allison peered around a corner, making sure the way was clear before turning down a fork in the hallway. A voice behind her piped up.

“You know you don’t have to do that. I’ll take care of anything that decides to rear its ugly head.” 

“Old habits, I guess,” she replied, casting a glance backwards. The man had been surprisingly passive so far, though his previous threat still echoed in her mind. 

_ If I find out you’re lying to me, I’ll make you regret it _ . 

She knew he meant it. However, she hadn’t lied. Though she hadn’t told him the whole truth, either… 

“Where are we going again, if you don’t mind me asking?” Sammy questioned.

“Meeting up with my friends, remember?” There was a pause. 

“No, no I don’t recall you mentioning. What friends are these?” 

“There’s Tom, first off. He… he’s not going to be happy to see you. He, well… I suppose you probably wouldn’t know him, but he definitely knows you. Just… don’t worry about it. If I tell him not to kill you, he won’t. Probably.” Sammy hmphed but otherwise said nothing. “There’s Henry, who probably won’t be happy to see you either.” He scoffed at this.

“Why? What did I ever do to your friends, whom I’ve never met, that they hate me?” 

“Hm. There’s the fact that you tried to kill Henry.”

“What?”

“Twice, from what he tells me.” 

“I don’t…” He hesitated. “I think I would’ve remembered something like that.” Allison frowned. 

“Well I remember it.”

“Really? You were there? That’s… rather embarrassing.” She glanced back at him, though his eyes were on the floor, looking to be deep in thought.

“It’s… it’s not a big deal, Sammy. You, uh, didn’t look like you were… thinking straight.” There was a heavy sigh. 

“I feel like I’m not thinking straight a lot of the time. But…” he trailed off. 

“But what?”

He took a breath. “But I know I haven’t always been like this. I don’t know. I don’t remember… I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” Allison said after a moment. “There are plenty of things I wish  _ I _ could remember, too.” 

“Like what?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she shrugged. 

“What were we just talking about?”

“The friends of mine that we’re currently looking for.”

“Ah, yes,” Sammy said, seemingly remembering. “Were there any others?” Allison hesitated for a long moment.

“Well… no, no one else,” she lied, wincing as she did so. Behind her, dead silence. “Though I have a few questions for you, if that’s alright.”

“Of course.”

Allison breathed a sigh of relief, pausing for a moment and trying to think of what to say as she turned down another fork in the hallway. “First of all, why hasn’t Alice said anything? Normally she’s rather… talkative.”

“Her reach doesn’t extend this far. We’re just deep enough that there aren’t any cameras here.”

“That’s a relief,” Allison sighed, glancing around. Sammy looked to be correct. No cameras. Though hers weren’t always visible.

“Why? Does she… dislike you?” Sammy asked quizzically.

“Well… yeah. Though I’d probably use a stronger word than ‘dislike.’” 

“Did you wrong her?”

“Uh, no, actually. I’ve never done anything to her.” Sammy was about to speak again when she raised a hand to stop him. “No, that’s not true, I’m sorry.” She glanced back at him, though his expression was unreadable.

“I ran her through with my sword.”

“ _ What?” _

She shrugged. “But in my defense, she was about to kill Henry. Plus, she hated me long before that.” Allison risked another glance backwards, but Sammy didn’t say anything. 

“But as for why she hated me before that, I don’t have a concrete answer. I suspect it’s her whole ‘self-centered obsession with perfection’ thing. Doesn’t like me because I remind her of the very thing she’s worked so hard to achieve, which is perfection. And I’m—”

“Perfect,” Sammy finished. She winced. 

“I… wouldn’t say that. Closer than Alice, certainly, but not... perfect.” 

“Hm. Could’ve fooled me. That’s part of the reason I first realized you weren’t Alice. You’re much more perfect than she could ever be, as corrupted as she is.” Allison shrugged.

“But I’m not  _ perfect _ . I’m sure you’ve seen the posters and cutouts. I may be more whole, less _corrupted,_ than Alice, but in reality I look nothing like who I’m supposed to be.”

“And you’re... fine with that?” Sammy asked. 

“I don’t know… I’ve gotten quite used to who I am now. A lust for perfection isn’t what defines me, unlike someone else we know.” 

“Then what is it that defines you?” Allison paused, glancing back at Sammy.

“I…” she hesitated. “I don’t know if I feel like answering that,” she finished. The truth was that she didn’t truly have an answer. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“Oh, it’s alright.” She waved a hand dismissively. “But now that we’re done with that little philosophical discourse, I do have another question. Alice has been holding something over our heads; hinting toward some big ‘project’. You were working for her, do you know what it is?” It took a moment for Sammy to answer.

“I… don’t. She was very secretive. However…” There was a note of hesitation in his voice. “...I did hear things. A sound that sent chills down my spine each time I heard it.”

“Really? Care to elaborate?” Allison asked.

“It was… a screech. A piercing, grating, inhuman scream.” Allison stopped in her tracks, turning to face the man, who was glancing around as though they might be overheard. “I don’t know what made them, but…” Sammy looked at her. “I know I don’t want to meet it.” 

“You’re sure?” she asked, frowning worriedly. 

“What reason would I have to lie to you?” 

“You’re absolutely certain? A metal-on-metal mechanical screech, one no person could possibly make?”

“I used the adjective ‘inhuman’, did I not?” He huffed, crossing his arms. Though the next moment, his tone softened slightly. “You… know what made the sound?” 

Allison’s expression was grim. “I do. Come on, we need to tell the others. To do that, we have to find them.” She turned around, continuing through the twisting maze of halls.

Several moments later, they found themselves in a long hallway with a door at the end. 

“There. That door should lead to a stairwell,” Sammy said. “But there will be cameras in there, so the second we step through that door, she’ll know where we are.”

“Alright. But Sammy,” she paused, glancing back at him, “I need to ask you something. Something important.” 

“Yes?” 

“I mentioned that my friends might not be all that receptive to you. Tom might try to kill you right off the bat. But I need you to promise me something.” Sammy nodded, looking puzzled.

“Promise me that you won’t hurt any of them.” Sammy seemed to be caught off-guard by the request. 

“Oh. Alright.” 

“Promise?”

Sammy sighed. “I promise I won’t hurt any of your friends.” 

“Thank you. I appreciate it. One more thing though, can you give me your axe?” 

“What? Why?”

“Things might turn out a little better if I’m the one holding onto it,” Allison stated sheepishly.

“You don’t trust me?” 

“It’s not that. Like I said, Tom might attack you. And it’ll be much easier to convince him that you’re a friend if you’re unarmed.” Sammy blinked.

“What if there are more Searchers?” He’d handled the handful of Searchers that had made an appearance as they’d been walking since Allison didn’t have her sword.

“I know how to swing an axe, Sammy,” she smiled. “It’ll be fine. Trust me.” 

“...fine.” With no shortage of grumbling and muttering under his breath, Sammy pulled the axe from his belt loop and relinquished the weapon. 

“Now that that’s taken care of, let’s go find the others.” She turned back toward the door at the end of the hall. As they reached it, Allison reached for the door knob, only for it to swing open unexpectedly. And to her relief, standing there were Bendy and Tom, the former having been the one to open the door. Just as she was opening her mouth to greet them, there was a shout. 

“Behind you!” 

Tom was the first to react, lunging forward, weapon in hand. Allison stepped forward and blocked him off.

“Tom, wait! It’s okay. He’s with me,” she explained, putting a hand on his shoulder. Tom stopped and gave her an incredulous stare. The other likewise had a similar look on his face, but it was directed toward someone else. His words were most certainly meant for her, through.

“Are you insane?” Bendy groaned. “Because he is, you know that, right? Also… why is he looking at me like that?” Allison’s stomach dropped to her feet. Maybe this hadn’t been such a great idea. She turned slowly, keeping her hand on Tom’s shoulder as she glanced as Sammy. 

He was standing still as concrete. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gah, sorry for the short chapter. Again...
> 
> But hopefully the next one will be a little longer! Things are going to be VERY interesting these next few chapters... 
> 
> (...Side note, why did I think it was a good idea to do chapter titles? Why are they so hard to come up with?!)


	8. Trust is a Fragile Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another one of my favorite chapters to write, not gonna lie.

It was dead silent. Not the nice kind, either. Everyone’s eyes were on Sammy, and his eyes were on Bendy. The tension was so thick you couldn’t cut it if you tried; the knife would just bounce off. 

_ “You…” _

The word was spat out through gritted teeth and dripping with hostility, and his clenched fists were shaking slightly as he stared down the one whom he’d formerly believed to be his savior. 

“...Me?” The other asked, looking just slightly apprehensive. 

Allison reached a hand toward him. “Sammy—” she was cut off as Sammy suddenly pushed her hand away and lunged forward. Bendy yelped as he ducked to the side. 

“Liar! Traitor!” Sammy shouted as he chased the other around the small room at the bottom of the staircase. Bendy darted under a table, around chairs, and over a crate with Sammy in pursuit. 

“I ain’t gonna stand for this— AH!” Sammy had picked up a chair and thrown it at him. “I’m warning ya!” 

The scene may have been comical if not for the fact that it was exactly what Allison had been trying to avoid. Unfortunately, Tom pulled away and also gave chase. 

“Stop! she cried. Naturally, no one paid her any attention. She jumped forward, dropping the axe she held, and grabbed Tom by the straps of his suspenders. 

“Tom, please!” she pleaded, looking at him imploringly. He stopped, glanced at the two as they pretty much ran in circles, and huffed. He lowered his axe and stepped to the side of the room. Allison allowed herself to feel relieved for just a moment as she turned back toward Sammy and Bendy. 

...Which is when she pretty much immediately stopped feeling relieved. Because at that moment, Sammy managed to intersect Bendy and grab his arm, lifting him up into the air. In his other hand was… the axe? How had he grabbed it so quickly without her noticing? He was speaking to the other under his breath, while the other looked absolutely dumbfounded. Well, that was new. Allison ran toward the two as Sammy looked like he was ready to use his axe. 

“Sammy, stop!” she yelled, grabbing his shoulder. He hardly reacted, not even glancing her direction as he shook her off. She grabbed him again, this time digging her heels into the floor and pulling as hard as she could. It wasn’t enough to budge the man, but it was enough to get him to snap his head towards her and glare fiercely. 

The menacing scowl was nearly enough to make her back up, but she swallowed before she lost her nerve and looked up at him, meeting his gaze fully. 

“Sammy, you  _ promised _ .” 

Her words caused him to freeze completely. “I…” he opened and closed his mouth, his expression one of shock and astonishment. Would he cease his aggression in the name of keeping his word, or would his anger win out? Allison earnestly hoped it to be the former. 

However, it appeared that the answer to the question would remain a mystery, as there was a wet-sounding thud, and Sammy suddenly collapsed to the floor. 

Standing right behind him with an innocent smile and an axe in hand, was Bendy. 

“Why did you do that?!” Allison demanded. 

“Huh? That was Henry!” 

“What? No it wasn’t, are you kidding me?” 

“But you know you wanted to,” Bendy smirked. 

“No, well… no! You—”

“Shush, both of you,” she muttered, kneeling down to look over Sammy. “Did you kill him?” She asked quietly.

“Hm? Oh, nah, used the back of the axe head.” He shrugged. “Though I dunno  _ why _ , cause we’re going to kill him now. Right?  _ Please _ tell me we’re going to take care of him while he’s zonked out.” 

“We’re not killing him.” 

“What? Okay, now I  _ know _ you’re crazy. But, and I’m pretty sure everyone wants to know the answer to this, but why in the ever-loving frick was this guy with you?” 

“Yeah, no, I’m pretty curious about that one too,” Henry said, adding, “But I’m glad you’re okay.” Tom nodded in agreement.

“Alright,” she sighed. “Let’s make this quick, though,” she murmured, glancing down at Sammy again before getting to her feet. 

“So here’s what happened. After I fell, my sword broke. That was  _ after _ I said I had my sword, by the way.” That was clearly directed at Tom. “I wandered around a while, outran a few Butcher Gang, nothing too interesting. That’s when I ran into Sammy. Somewhat literally…”

“Alright, cool! That’s when you took the opportunity to run the other direction as quickly as possible, yes?” Bendy interrupted.

“Well, no.” He groaned. Allison held up a hand as he opened his mouth to speak again. “Could you let me finish before you tell me I’m an idiot? Thank you. For a split second, I thought I’d run into a Lost One, but that clearly wasn’t the case. However, when he started talking, he… well, he was acting much less aggressive than most of us know him to be. As a matter of fact, he thought I was Alice at first.” 

“And he didn’t immediately try to kill you because of that?” Bendy asked skeptically. 

“No, actually, that was the reason he didn’t kill me. He was... serving Alice this go around.” 

“Really? I wouldn’t’ve… huh. That’s new.” His eyes drifted to Sammy.

“Mmhm. But then he realized I wasn’t her, and—” Bendy snapped.

“And  _ that’s  _ when he tried to kill you!” 

“He didn’t try to kill me! He was confused, as was I, and we asked each other a few questions. Then he was about to leave to finish something for Alice, and I—”

“Stopped him? Said ‘hey! Here’s an idea! Why don’tcha come along with me instead? Then—”

“Stop. Interrupting.” Allison crossed her arms, glaring down at him. “And yes! That’s exactly what happened. You all know that Alice would’ve killed him the moment she was done having him do her dirty work.” 

“Good! Great! Keeps him outta our metaphorical hair so we only have Angel to worry about!” 

“And when he finally makes it out of the puddles again he’s even more angry, hurt, and confused than before!”

“So?!” He laughed disbelievingly. “It’s just Sammy! Who gives a—”

“Me! I do! No one deserves to go through that over and over again! No one deserves to lose themselves again each time they finally start to figure out who they were! No one…” she sighed, shoulders sinking a little, “deserves to not know who they are.” There was silence for a moment. 

“Huh. Didn’t know ya felt that way, Alli,” Bendy said, seemingly unfazed. 

“Hey, hold on, there’s something you need to know,” Henry said suddenly. Al looked at him questioningly. 

“Nah, that can wait,” Bendy interrupted nonchalantly, waving a hand. “Shouldn’t we figure out what to do with this guy? Y’know, before he wakes up? Killin’ him is still the best option, in my own humble opinion.” Tom nodded. “Ah, see? Wolfie agrees with me!” 

“We’re not killing him! I can’t be the only one who thinks so. Henry gets a say in this, right?” 

“Well…” Henry said hesitantly, Bendy’s face clearly conflicted. Then the expression morphed into one of annoyance.

“Well?” Bendy snapped. “Spit it out.” 

“I don’t hold a grudge against him for what he did. As long as he doesn’t, well, try to kill anyone again, I’d say he can stick around. But can we trust him not to do that, is the question.”

“Of course not!” Bendy exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “He’s literally insane, or do I have to spell it out another twenty times?” His expression changed again. Al didn’t think that she’d get used to it.

“Bendy has a point,” Henry said. She sighed.

“Just let me try to talk some sense into him. Maybe I can get him to listen.”

“Really? You really gonna make me say it again? IN-SANE. The guy’s got no marbles to speak of, all the screws fell out decades ago, ya get what I’m saying? He’s a nut! I mean, how crazy do you have to be to attack this lovable face on sight?” He gestured to himself. 

“Gee, I don’t know, maybe it has something to do with that fact that you killed him?” Al asked, her tone hard.

“Well, I— that's not… That’s besides the point!” he snapped. “Point IS, just how do you plan on getting him to listen to you?” 

She shook her head. “I don’t know yet. But I won’t be able to do it with you guys in the room.”

“Ha! Didn’t know you had a death wish, doll.” Tom immediately shook his head. 

“It’s the only way. I need you all to leave.” Tom shook his head again, looking at her like she was crazy. Al bent down and picked up Sammy’s axe, glanced at it briefly, then held it out. He looked at it for a moment before realizing it was her intention for him to take it. At that, his eyes widened and he shook his head even harder. 

“Whoa, that whole ‘death wish’ thing was meant to be a joke! Ya need to talk to someone?” Bendy smirked. “Ya know, old Tommy here nearly had a mental breakdown worrying about you. Now you’re off putting yourself in mortal danger again without batting an eye.” 

“I mean it,” she said, ignoring Bendy’s words. “This is what I need to do. Will you let me do it?” She asked, placing a hand on Tom’s shoulder. He didn’t move. Finally, he dropped his gaze and took a step toward the door. She held out the axe again, and after another moment, he reluctantly took it.

“Yeesh, well, it’s been nice knowin’ ya.” Bendy likewise stepped toward the door. “Have fun!” 

“Be careful,” Henry added softly. They stepped out the door into the hallway she and Sammy had come from, Tom the last to leave. He shut the door quietly. Allison sighed, eyeing the door momentarily. She then picked up one of the chairs that was laying on its side, set it upright, and waited for Sammy to wake up. 

~~~

What she expected was to have to deal with Sammy. There was a very probable possibility that he’d be angry, too, and the threat of bodily harm might come along with that. But she was ready for that. And somehow, she wasn’t scared. Nervous, maybe, but not enough to back out. No. This was something she really felt like she had to do. Like someone depended on her. Well, technically Sammy did. 

Now what she  _ hadn’t  _ expected was to deal with exertion of a different sort. More of a mental sort, rather than physical. But she realized that was probably exactly what she’d get as the PA system crackled to life. 

“Well, now! I’m gone for a few measly hours and I totally miss all the fun. What do we have here?” There was a very brief pause, and Al imagined Alice leaning in and examining her screens closely with her one eye. 

“What have you done with my errand boy, foolish girl? He’s clearly not dead, else he’d be back in the puddles by now. No, he must be either asleep, which I doubt, or… unconscious. What are you planning? Why haven’t you killed him yet, hm? You don’t possibly think you can reason with him, do you?”

She continued to ignore Alice. Doing so tended to make her angry, and while it probably wasn’t a great idea to try to rile her up, why not? Wasn’t like she’d been making the epitome of marvelous decisions lately. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sammy moving just slightly. Stirring. Great. Just great. Alice hadn’t noticed yet, but she was bound to any moment. 

“No, of course not. Even  _ you _ must realize that he cannot be reasoned with. That’s part of the reason I decided to keep him around, you know. If he put up with that awful demon for years, an angel like myself doesn’t have to worry about his loyalties. He was once a very strong individual. Now, so malleable, so compliant. So... obedient.” She let out a laugh. “ _ Very _ useful.” 

“Until you’re done with him.” Al said, glancing down at Sammy.

“Ah! Well, once he’s served his purpose, I have no need for him anymore.” 

“Then what?” She asked loudly. “You’ll just kill him?” 

“Oh, you’ll get no confession from my lips.” There was a smile in her voice. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do. It’s too late anyway; he’s waking up.” And indeed, she spoke the truth (for once). Sammy opened his eyes, rubbing the back of his head as he slowly sat up. 

“I’d say it’s been nice knowing you, but that would be a lie. Kill her, errand boy! Get up and rip her to shreds! No no, do it slowly. I want to watch her  _ writhe _ in pain!” It was kind of worrying how eager Alice sounded. Sammy slowly turned his head toward her. He was glaring daggers. As he began to get off the floor, Al stood up from her chair. 

They faced each other, Al slightly apprehensive, and the other very,  _ very _ , angry. Sammy suddenly looked up at the ceiling, locating Alice’s camera.

“That’s right, do it  _ right _ there. I want to catch  _ every _ gory detail.” For a moment, he didn’t move, nor gave any sign that he even heard Alice. Then, he shifted his entire body so he was facing the camera completely, and crossed his arms. No one moved for what felt like ages. The room was dead silent. Then, the penny dropped.

“Oh.  _ Oh _ .” Alice suddenly burst out laughing. It was so unexpected that Allison actually took a few steps backward. “Ahahahaha! This is  _ gold _ ! Completely  _ unbelievable _ ! You-You’ve somehow turned him against me!” she managed, still laughing uncontrollably. “Oh, what a turn of events! How? How did you do it? What did you tell him?” 

“I told him the truth.” Allison said, staring at the camera. At that, Sammy turned his head slightly, narrowing his eyes at her. She ignored it. 

“Oh, of course, the  _ truth _ . A word thrown around far too often, if you ask me. How much do you have to share for it to be considered the  _ truth _ , little wanna-be? How much can you omit before it’s a lie? You  _ say  _ you told him the truth, but did you mention that one of your close companions is, for some  _ unfathomable _ reason, the Ink Demon himself?” Sammy’s head turned toward her completely, glaring. 

“Ah, no, of course not. Because  _ that _ bit of truth didn’t suit you. See? Not nearly as black-and-white as you make it out to be, Little-Miss-Perfect. The lines are so easily blurred. It’s so easy for the truth to become a lie, if you’re not careful. Well! This really has been fun, and I’d love to stay and watch what comes of this, but I have better things to do. As a matter of fact, you two have just given me the  _ greatest _ idea.” And with that, the PA system fell silent. 

“I’m sure that’ll be fine,” she muttered. Was it just her, or did it suddenly feel really hot and stuffy in here? Maybe it was just Sammy, who was still giving her a death glare. She took a breath and slowly turned to face him. 

“Do you want to explain to me what the  _ hell _ just happened?” he demanded. 

“...Alice talked to us over the PA system?” she joked weakly, giving him a sheepish smile. Clearly, it was the wrong thing to say. 

“Do  _ not _ play games with me,” he snapped, taking a step towards her and shortening the already small amount of distance between them. “You know  _ exactly _ what I mean. The only reason you’re still standing is because I want answers, so I suggest you start talking.” 

“Yes, of course.” She held both hands up slightly and took a small step backwards. “No, that’s fair, that’s fair, I’ll explain. But I’ll start by saying that we could’ve killed you while you are unconscious.” 

“And you expect me to thank you? To grovel on my knees and swear to return the favor? Consider this,” he spat, “maybe not killing me was your second mistake. Your  _ first _ was lying to me!” Behind Sammy, she noticed the door opening. Tom poked his head through. She frowned at him and shook her head, and thankfully, he closed the door. Sammy hadn’t seemed to notice.

“You didn’t bother to mention the fact that one of your little  _ friends _ is the  _ Ink Demon _ ?”

“Well…” She let out a sigh. “No. I didn’t. I lied to you, and I’m sorry.”

“You’re only  _ sorry _ because now you have to deal with the consequences.”

“I’m not, I promise. I really felt bad about it, but I didn’t have a choice. Within the first thirty seconds of us meeting, you made it clear just how much you hated him. And don’t get me wrong, you have good reason to hate him, but just the mere mention of him made you… well, mad. Really mad. I didn’t know how you’d react if I told you.” 

“Alright.” He took a step back letting his arms fall to his sides. He stared at the floor for a moment, fingers tapping against his leg. “Alright…” He glanced up again. “But why?”

“Why what…?”

“Why would you be…” he frowned, narrowing his eyes. “I can’t think of a single reason why you would want to be anywhere  _ near _ the Ink Demon. Why you would— I just…” he shook his head. “Why?” 

“Ah. Right. Well, this is going to sound kinda crazy, but… he’s not so bad anymore.” It was quiet for a moment.

“You’re right. That does sound crazy.” Sammy shook his head in disbelief. “What could possibly make you think that?? ‘Evil’ is practically in his name! I was blind to that for far too long. After everything I did, he deceived me! Lied to me and-and stabbed me in the back! He—” Sammy had begun pacing when Allison interrupted him.

“Sammy, I know. But—”

“NO!” He stopped in his tracks, pointing at her, catching her off guard. “Don’t! He betrayed me! Just like Alice was going to!” 

“You still believe that?” She asked quizzically. She’d honestly thought that Sammy would refuse to believe anything she said after breaking his trust. 

“Oh no, I don’t believe _you_.” Well, fair enough. “No, Alice made her intentions clear. I heard much more than _either_ of you thought, but she thinks I’m stupid and native, like some pathetic _sheep_. _I’m_ _not_,” he said forcefully, glaring at that camera. “I WAS stupid to trust her in the first place. Just like… you know what?” His gaze shifted to rest on her. “Just like I was stupid to trust _you_.” 

“I’m  _ sorry _ , I—”

“Stop. Interrupting. Me.” He seethed, beginning to pace again. “I should know by now. I should’ve learned my lesson after the second time. The  _ only _ reason someone keeps me around is because they need me.” 

“I never—”

“ _ You _ are no exception!” He stopped again momentarily, pointing at her again before continuing his pacing. “You saved my life. You knew that Alice would dispose of me the moment she was done with me, even if I was too blind to see it. But why?” He threw his hands up in the air. “Why? Why else… than because you needed me? Don’t think for a second that I didn’t notice the fact that you were wandering around unarmed. Completely defenseless. I might have killed you. Or taken you back to Alice. She would’ve liked that, wouldn't she?”

“But you didn’t.” The door cracked open again, and she glared at Tom. 

“But I didn’t! I didn’t. You were just… soo damn  _ friendly _ . You didn’t act scared of me. You didn’t run, or try to attack me. You talked to me. Treated me like-like a normal person. Saved my life for no reason.” For such a brief moment that Al though she could’ve imagined it, Sammy deflated a little. He looked smaller, almost sad. But then it was gone, replaced with the previous hostility. 

“But it  _ wasn’t _ for no reason.” She said, still trying to appeal to him despite the fact that he was glaring at her again. 

“No. Oh no, no, no. Not for no reason at all. You just wanted to use me. If you managed to-to  _ befriend _ me, you’d have someone to protect you. Someone who could take out all the nasty monsters until you managed to reunite with your  _ friends _ . And considering who your friends  _ are _ , I’d say there’s no lack of protection there. So then you wouldn’t need me. So why am I still here? Why haven’t you killed me yet?  _ That’s _ what I can’t figure out,” he muttered.

“Maybe that’s not the reason I saved you, then,” she suggested gently. 

“But then— no. You… you just wanted to use me. What other reason could it be?” He shook his head, looking at her again.

“I didn’t save you just because you might be useful to me. I saved you because… because you reminded me of myself,” she admitted. “I know how it feels to—”

“To be betrayed over and over? To be stabbed in the back after promises upon promises, lies upon lies? To—”

“No. I don’t know how that feels, and you didn’t deserve to go through that. But there’s one thing I can relate to. Not knowing who you are.” She gave him a small smile. “You don’t know where you fit. Your… I dunno, your purpose. But you have your name at least. You’re Sammy, the music director of the studio, right? I don’t… I don’t even have that. I don’t know my true name. Who I was before all this,” she said, gesturing to the room. “I’m sorry. I could be wrong,” she shrugged. “You might not care about that whatsoever. Just because that’s important to me doesn't mean it is to you, but I thought maybe… I don’t know…” she trailed off, not really having me to say. Sammy didn’t say anything either for a long moment.

“So… what you’re saying is… you saved me because you felt bad for me?” 

“I guess so.” 

“Hm. Well, it’s a refreshing change from ‘to use me.’” He sighed and rubbed his face. “You really,  _ truly _ speak the truth?” 

She nodded. “I’d understand if you didn’t believe me, but I really am sorry for lying.” His expression darkened. 

“I still don’t understand why you’re wandering around with  _ him _ . After everything he’s done, how can you possibly trust him?”

“I’ll be honest. I don’t. But I trust Henry.” 

“Ah, Henry. Who has been where, exactly, this entire time?” 

“It’s… a long story.” 

Sammy gestured around them. “Well, we have no shortage of time here, do we?” Allison shrugged.

“Alright. But this is going to sound pretty crazy too. Grab a chair.” He did so, reluctantly, and she sat down in hers. When she finished explaining what had happened, along with Henry’s current situation, Sammy looked deep in thought. He didn’t say anything for a moment.

“No,” he finally said slowly. “That… makes sense.” 

“Really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. He nodded, still not glancing her direction. 

“Yes… That would explain… multiple things. That would explain the changes, both in appearance and behavior.” 

“So… do you still hate Bendy?” she asked cautiously. Sammy practically bristled at the suggestion. 

“Of course,” he growled, eyes snapping toward her. “I don’t care if he’s really changed. He still betrayed me.” Allison half expected him to start ranting again, but he simply let out a tired sigh. 

“Do you still hate him enough to—”

“Kill him?” He finished, then shrugged. “Maybe not…” he murmured. “There… wouldn’t be much point now, I guess.” She nodded. 

“I doubt it would make you feel better anyway,” she said. He frowned.

“...You might be right,” he admitted after a moment. “I used to think it would, but now, after all this…” He shook his head. “You might be right.” He repeated, then fell silent. 

“What do you want to do now?” She asked. He looked up in surprise.

“What?” 

“I mean, no one is going to force you to stay here with us. You can come with us if you choose, but you can do whatever suits you.” 

“Oh, well… I don’t… I wouldn’t come if I wasn’t wanted, but…” He seemed to struggle with what to say. “But it’s not like I have anything else to do,” he finished. 

“Really? You’ll come with us?” She smiled. Sammy shrugged. 

“Where are you going?” 

“Well, we’re kind of just following Bendy at the moment.” she admitted. He frowned sourly.

“Right. And why are you doing that, again?”

“He supposedly has a way to get out of here.” 

“Really?” he scoffed. “You believe him? I believed that very lie for—” 

“I believe  _ Henry _ ,” she maintained. “Besides, even if I didn’t, I couldn’t just leave him.”

“Yes you could,” Sammy muttered under his breath. 

“No, I  _ can’t _ . He’s my friend. And I don’t leave my friends. Never again,” she said, her voice determined despite the underlying guilt she still felt. Sammy hesitated for several seconds, like he was trying to decide whether or not to say something.

“Are… are  _ we _ friends?” he asked slowly, almost as though he was dreading the answer. Allison smiled in response.

“I mean, we’ve never tried to kill each other.  _ I _ think that qualifies us as friends, do you?” 

“I’m not the nicest person,” he admitted, his voice so quiet she hardly heard him. 

“You know what? Neither is Tom sometimes.” Tom peeked in again, but she ignored him “He and I are good friends.” 

“You two have always been close.” She was caught off guard by this, and barely noticed Tom's eyes narrowing from the doorway. 

“What?” she asked, shaking her head at the eavesdropper. 

“I… I’m sorry, I honestly don’t know where that came from.” He shook his head, frowning, and Tom closed the door again. “But that’s different. I… I've yelled at you, I’ve threatened you…” 

“And it’s all in the past, right Sammy? Do you plan on doing it again?” 

“I— no. I don’t think so.” 

“Then I think we can be friends,” she said, still smiling. “But that does mean you can’t hurt any of my friends,” she added. He sighed. 

“I won’t.”

“Not even Bendy?” she asked.

“No. Not even him. I promise.” 

“Thank you.”

Well, that was probably as good as she’d get. She stood up from her chair, stretched, then stepped toward the door. Tom opened the door before she had the chance.

“You’re patient, aren’t you?” she joked. Tom huffed, then glanced behind her at Sammy. “Hey.” She put a hand on his shoulder, directing his attention back to her. “I know it probably wasn’t easy to wait, especially since I just got back. So thank you.” Tom looked at her for a moment before giving her a single nod. He then returned his gaze to the one standing several feet behind her. She turned. 

“Sammy, this is Tom. Tom, Sammy. We’re all going to get along, right?” Sammy nodded, though he glanced down at the axe Tom held. Tom tightened his grip on the weapon, giving the other a suspicious glare. “Tom…” she squeezed his shoulder gently. He glanced at her for a second before relenting. His tense posture relaxed slightly, and he gave Sammy a nod. “Good, thank you. But where’s—” 

At that, a round head appeared around the corner of the doorway. “So, you’re not dead.”

“Nope,” she affirmed, before turning toward Sammy. His eyes were on Bendy, and seemed marginally more tense than before, but otherwise didn’t seem to react. “Well then, I suppose I don’t need to introduce you two.”

“Indeed,” Sammy muttered. Bendy just scoffed. 

“So we really taking him along?  _ Him _ , of all people?” Bendy asked. She glanced from him to Sammy once more.

“Yes. If he still wishes to come with us, then yes.” 

“ _ Great. _ ” He shook his head and abruptly stepped past her. For a split second she thought he was going toward Sammy, who must have assumed the same and took a sudden step back. Then he turned toward the stairs, pausing.

“Well? We goin’ or not?” Then he started upwards and was out of sight a moment later. 

“He’s certainly not very patient,” Allison murmured as she moved to follow. Sammy snorted.

“He never has been.” She paused as she reached the first step.

“Are you doing alright, Sammy?” she asked him. He let out a low sigh and shook his head slowly.

“Let’s just get this over with.”


	9. Before Embarking on a Journey of Revenge...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters may or may not be slow to come out these next couple weeks/months. I have a bit more time on my hands, but then again, I'm also babysitting my siblings and making sure they're doing their school while making sure mine is getting done as well... I suppose we'll just have to see! Hope you guys are staying healthy!

_ -Approximately half an hour earlier- _

“Have fun!” 

“Be safe.” 

The door shut with a squeak and a soft click. Bendy leaned against the wall. Tom stood where he was, facing the door and not moving. Talk about overprotective. Weeeell, considering _ who _ was into the room alone with an unarmed Allison, it wasn’t _ that _ surprising. 

“I can’t believe her,” he muttered. “We come all this way to find her, then it turns out she's been running around with SAMMY of all people, and wants to what, bring him along with us?”

“That’s what it looks like,” Henry affirmed. “But why is that the end of the world?”

“It’s not…”

“You’re acting like it is.” 

“I am not! It’s just… it could’ve been _ anyone _ other than Sammy.” 

“What’s your deal with Sammy, anyway?” Henry asked.

“He’s nuts! Crazy! Why are you defending him?? Did you forget that he almost killed you?” 

“No, I haven’t, but I don’t hold a grudge. But that’s not the point. Is ‘because he’s crazy’ the reason you killed him?”

“Are we really going to go into this?” 

“We have time, don’t we? If that’s not the reason you killed him, then why?”

“I don’t have to answer that; it’s none of your business.” 

“You had nothing to gain from killing him, and he never did anything to you.”

“I had my reasons,” he snapped.

“In fact, you had me right there,” Henry continued. “And yet you took a detour just so you could kill him. Why?” 

“Fine! Fine! I— I killed him for fun, really,” he finally admitted. “There. You happy?”

“You killed him for fun?” 

“Yeah! Sure! The guy was a fool, blindly trusting me the way he did. He had it comin’ anyway! Didn’t think twice about it at the time, but now I—” he cut himself off suddenly. 

“Now you what?” 

“I… geez, I dunno. Can we talk about something else?” 

“Nope, sorry,” he said in a firm yet gentle way that Bendy found mildly aggravating. He didn’t respond for several seconds, glancing over at Tom as he peeked inside the room for the second time in as many minutes. 

Henry continued. “You said you didn’t think twice at the time, but now that’s changed, hasn’t it?” 

“I… maybe? I don’t… I don’t know. Maybe… maybe I kinda feel a _ tiny _ bit like I shouldn’t’ve done it?” The moment he said it, he wished he hadn’t. Why was he telling Henry all this anyway? It wasn’t like it was his business, and he was just gonna make a big fuss about it. But he had to admit, getting it off his chest kinda felt, well, _ good _ , though he wouldn’t admit it to anyone. _ Especially _ to Henry. 

“Well, that’s a good thing,” Henry said. 

“Is it really? Cause it don’t feel all that good,” he muttered. 

“It definitely is.” 

There was silence for a few minutes. 

“Hey, why did you cut me off when I was trying to talk to Allison?” Henry asked quizzically.

“Cause I knew what you were gonna say, and we didn’t have time for it.” 

“Well when are we going to tell her? It’s not like we’re running for our lives or anything.”

“Yeah, well we just might be in a little while here,” he frowned. 

“You think Sammy’s going to get out of control?” Henry asked.

“Nah… Nah, it’s not that. I just… I dunno, somethin’s off. Somethin’s changed, and not in a good way, you know?” 

As a matter of fact, Henry did know. He could feel it as well, though he wasn’t sure how he’d describe it. But even if he wasn’t sure what it was, he could feel it to his very core; some sort of disturbance. 

“I think I know what you mean. Have you, you know, ever felt that before?” 

“Oh, a couple’a times. When you first got here, for example. And when you turned on the Machine. And when Sammy bopped you on the head, and when you… Alright, it’s revolved a lot around you lately. It really happens when there is or is about to be some big change. A plot twist, if you will! Maybe it’s somethin’ that’s goin’ on with Sammy, but… I dunno Henry, I dunno.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

  
  
  


~~~

  
  


-_ Present- _

  
  


As Al sluggishly climbed what could’ve easily been the millionth step, she heard a yelp from somewhere ahead of her. Tiredness forgotten, she took the stairs two at a time until she reached the top of the flight, turned, and saw Bendy drenched in ink, looking thoroughly annoyed. She realized that the stuff was puddled around her feet. Considering the open door next to Bendy with ink slowly trickling through it, it would make sense to assume it came from there. 

“Of course _ I’m _the one to open the door and get soaked,” he muttered, wiping his face off (with minimal success) as he stepped through the doorway. She followed after making sure the others were alright, but didn’t immediately recognize where they were.

“Which level is this?” she asked as they started through the corridors, the ink now mostly drained. 

“Eh, not sure exactly which one, but it’s a few levels down from 14. That’s where we need to get to. I know a relatively quick way up from there.”

“Doesn't that monster hang around there?” 

“Mm, he kicked the bucket a long ways away from here.” Bendy gestured vaguely with his hand.

“So it’s safe?” 

“Safe as anywhere else around here,” he shrugged. 

“Alright, so not that safe. Good to know.” She glanced down at the axe she held, which Sammy hadn’t wanted back. He’d just glumly shook his head when she offered it to him. Strange, to be sure, but probably for the best anyway. 

They continued, following Bendy and opening doors here and there, until they reached a long, narrow hall. Ahead, there was a turn. But there was something coming from that direction. Noises. Unintelligible rasping chatter, clicks, and footsteps. It had to be one of those Butcher Gang things. The noises became clearer the closer they got, but as they did, she began to doubt that it was just one. 

As they reached the end of the hall and turned into a larger room, Bendy stopped, causing Allison to almost bump into him. Well, trip over him would probably be slightly more accurate. 

“Oh, $&!@,” he muttered. The sound of a bicycle bell came out, which would’ve been funny had she not been staring at what was before them. Taking up quite a bit of the room were over at least fifteen Butcher Gang clones. And they weren’t making noise anymore. Nope, every one of them was staring at them. 

“Maybe we should just…” Bendy took a step back. “Yep, let’s go.” He turned around to head the other way when he stopped again. “Really?!” 

“What?” She turned around, leaning to glance past Sammy and Tom. From the end of the hall they came from, there was a bright, flickering light that was coming from a dark, dreadfully familiar figure that was trudging leisurely in their direction. And was it just her, or did the creature look ominously larger than usual? 

“This way it is!” He turned again toward the Butcher Gang. They were advancing slowly, various weapons at the ready. They were so coordinated it was almost scary. Allison had never seen anything like it. But nonetheless, she lifted her axe and followed Bendy into the fray. 

She realized after just a few seconds of swinging her axe that there was no way to focus on one at a time. You hit what you could, and whether you finish it or not, you keep moving. So that’s what she did. Take a slash when she had the opportunity, dodge a punch or swinging head, swing again. There were five mangled clones focused on her at the moment. Part of her wanted to see if the others were doing well, but it was all she could do to attack the monsters and dodge theirs, while avoid being pressed into the corner. Which was something they were clearly attempting to do. It would’ve been mind-boggling if she had a moment to spare. She brought her axe down hard into the head of one that held a wrench, and it melted into ink. Without pausing, she swung it sideways and took off the head of one whose neck was a fishing pole. It also dissipated. She took a split second to whip her head around and scan the room. Bendy and Tom were doing just fine, and there were a total of about seven Butcher Gang left between the three of them. But where was Sammy? She caught a very brief glimpse of the man near the hall they’d come from before she was forced to return her attention to the monsters. Which were trying to corner her again! Why were they so smart all of a sudden? She darted between a few, slashing with her axe as she did so. The three remaining clones were still standing, but not for long. She lunged forward in an attempt to land a blow on another, when there was a familiar screech, and a panicked shout. She whirled around out of pure instinct, but she saw nothing; the part of the hallway she could see was empty. A painful blow landed on the back of her knee. She almost stumbled because of it, but kept her balance and turned, swinging her axe as she did. It landed square in the side of the head of the one that punched her, and killed it. As she was about to go for the two that were left, they suddenly began retreating. She hesitated for a moment, glanced toward the others. Theirs were booking it too. Had they somehow scared them off? 

She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. 

“What on earth?” she asked. 

“Alright,_ that _ was nuts,” Bendy said, shaking his head. 

“Wait a minute,” she frowned as she looked around. “Where’s Sammy?” It fell silent for several seconds. 

“Ha, did he ditch us?” 

“No, I doubt he’d do something like that unless— Tom? What is it?” Tom was shaking his head. Then he pointed toward the hallway. “Did he go back the way we came?” She asked, slowly walking toward the hall. She caught sight of ink stains that definitely weren’t there before. 

“Gosh, is he hurt?” she murmured, inspecting the stains more closely. There was an ink splatter on the wall at about chest height, but it didn’t look too large. Then she noticed dark footprints going down the hall. Two sets, like the same person had walked here and back the way they came. But they were much too large to be Sammy’s. 

“It took him,” Henry said from behind her.

She didn’t want to believe it, but it was clear that had to be the case. A feeling of dread settled in her stomach like concrete.

“But why? Why would that thing take Sammy?” 

“This all seemed really planned out,” Henry pointed out. 

“I know, I was just thinking that. There were so many of those Butcher Gang things, and they acted so in tune with each other. And then the creature with the projector came from just the right direction, at just the right time that we were all distracted.” 

“Most of us call him the Projectionist,” Henry said quietly. Well, that made enough sense. She nodded, then turned to look at the others. Henry, or maybe Bendy, was staring at the ink spatter. 

“It _ had _ to be Alice, right? There’s no way all that was a coincidence. Right?” Tom gave her a small nod. The other two were quiet. “Well? We have to save him.” Bendy gave her a look at that.

“Ahem, no we don’t.” She noticed Tom shaking his head subtly from the corner of her eye, but ignored him.

“We can’t just leave him for Alice to do whatever she wants! You know she’ll kill him, or worse.” She glanced between them. “Right?” 

“Actually, we _ can _ just leave him. Not a single one of us has any obligation to keep him safe, bring him with us,” he was counting on his fingers, “or rescue him from ALICE-FRICKING-ANGEL! None. Whatsoever. So shall we go?” She looked at Tom, who shook his head again. 

“Henry?” she asked hopefully. He didn’t say anything for a moment. 

“I… I already told you what she did to me, what she did to Boris. I tried to rescue him, but… She was just messing with me; leading me on. I don’t really hold a grudge against Sammy for trying to kill me, but that doesn’t change the fact that…” he let out a sigh. “There’s very little chance we can save him. She might already have her hands on him by now, which could mean he’s already dead. Or worse… I’m sorry, but I really think we should just get out of here while she’s busy, as bad as that sounds...” 

“...I told him that I wouldn’t leave my friends,” she said quietly, shoulders sinking a little.

“Really? Him? Friend?” the other blurted out with a laugh. 

“You’re no help to anyone if you’re dead,” Henry said seriously. “But anything can happen, right? Don’t give up hope just yet.” 

“Right. Don’t give up hope…” she murmured, staring down the hallway. Henry was probably just saying that to make her feel better. It hadn’t done much to lift her spirits, but she appreciated that he was trying. Poor, poor Sammy, though… Was leaving the right thing to do? The others' arguments were logical; there was next to no chance of saving him, even if he was still alive. But what if there was? 

“Well? We goin’ then?” Bendy asked impatiently, pointing backwards and taking a few steps in that direction. 

She hesitated. 

“Fine, we’ll… we’ll go. But if there’s any chance to help him, we take it, okay?” She knew that there likely wouldn’t be, but she had to mention it anyway.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, alright. Let’s go then.” 

  
  


~~~

  
  


If Henry felt bad about the loss of Sammy, he knew it must be eating Allison up. He instinctively took control once or twice to glance back at her, to see how she was fairing, but Bendy shut him down before he had the chance to move his head, keeping his eyes firmly forward. Well, fine, he wouldn’t push it. It wasn’t a big deal anyway. 

Though, to be honest, this whole… _ situation _ he was in was getting quite a bit easier to deal with. He never felt even the slightest bit tired anymore; he wasn’t entirely sure why, but it could’ve been that his mind was starting to cope with what was going on? It also no longer felt like he was floating in some endless void, staring at a television screen. He’d noticed that as time went on, he felt more at home in the body he inhabited, rather than being a foreigner. Less like a screen, more like his own eyes. 

It didn’t bother him, in fact, it made things quite a bit easier. And if he was going to be stuck like this until they actually got out of there, well, at this rate he’d better start getting comfortable. 

It had been quiet for close to ten minutes. He began to turn his head again, and this time the other didn’t stop him. Tom was closest in following; Allison was lagging a bit behind. He returned his gaze to the path in front of them. Should he say something? Try to reassure her? It wasn’t like there was much to say. They finally reached a door, and Bendy opened it. 

“Alrighty, we’re getting there,” Bendy said as he stepped into yet another stairwell. 

“Geez, I still don’t get how this place is so big,” he muttered.

“Eh, better not to question it.” Thankfully, it was just two flights of stairs this time. There was an ink-stained door in front of them. He opened it, and they stepped into a place that was quite familiar. 

“Is this level 14?” Henry asked, lowering his voice slightly. 

“Sure is. And it’s all drained out for us, how handy.” True enough, the only ink around was the stains on the floor and baseboards.

“Hey, now is as good a time as any, right?” Henry asked, glancing back at Allison. She deserved to know. But for some unfathomable reason, _ someone _ didn’t seem to agree with him.

“No, Henry, it’s really not. Can’t we just—”

“We can tell her now, so let’s tell her.”

“Tell me what?” Allison glanced at them. 

“While you were gone, we found something that—”

“Shh,” Bendy interrupted.

“I’m going to tell her, why is that the end of the world? Al, you—” 

“Shuddup, will ya?” Bendy held up a hand, seemingly listening to something. “Oh. This might be bad.” 

“What is it?” Al asked. 

“I’m not the only one that hears that, right? There’s no… how can...? Whatever, c'mon.” He started left down the fork in the hall. “You guys may want to keep up.” There was a brief pause, then two steps of footsteps echoing theirs. But also… no, he could hear it too. Deeper, heavier footsteps coming from the hall behind them. All the projectors they passed were no longer playing clips from the old cartoons. They were off, all of them. But the clicking, whirling sound of a projector with no film could be heard in the distance.

After a few quick turns, they found themselves in the large open room with the elevator. They started toward the stairs. However, before they’d even gotten halfway to relative safety, the pounding footsteps began to grow louder. Bendy looked around quickly, then ducked behind a few crates and motioned for the others to do the same. They did just in time. A bright, flickering light became visible, and a moment later, so did the Projectionist. 

Now, the last time Henry had gotten a close look at the Projectionist, it had been from the supposed safety of a Little Miracle Station. He had barely gotten a glimpse of the creature last time; they’d both been rather preoccupied by the Butcher Gang. But this time, he could see him perfectly fine. And there was no doubt about it, Alice had definitely done something to him. He was taller than Henry remembered, probably as tall or taller than the Ink Demon used to be. He was a little bit buffed up as well, but not nearly as much as the brute that had become of Boris. The reel that had been in his shoulder had been removed, leaving an inky depression where it had been. There were a greater number of wires as well, but they were no longer a hapless mess that went nowhere. Each one connected somewhere. It looked like every one of them had a place, a purpose. Half a dozen or so black wires were fused to, or perhaps feeding into, the speaker embedded in the Projectionist’s chest. The projector was dented in many places and almost entirely slick with ink, only a few bits of yellowed metal visible. 

Sammy was nowhere to be seen. 

“Alright,” he said in a quiet voice, watching as it plodded past the crates. “He’ll only know where we are if he sees us, so keep your heads down. He can’t—” Suddenly, the Projectionist snapped his head toward their hiding place. “Hear…?” 

The creature let out a sudden screech and started running toward them. 

  
  


~~~

  
  


Sammy came to slowly. His head was pounding in time to the distant sound of dripping ink. 

_ Drip. _

_ Drip. _

_ Drip. _

Letting out a groan, he moved to sit up, before realizing that he couldn’t. A pit began to form in his stomach when he opened his eyes to look around. He found himself in a dim room, ink staining the walls, pipes above his head. There were leather straps binding him to a metal operating table. The most disconcerting sight, however, was the cart next to him. It held all kinds of surgical tools: knives, forceps, scalpels, and other things that he couldn’t name. Pieces began to click together in his head as previous events came back to him. 

Al.

The Butcher Gang.

The Projectionist.

And then what? He couldn’t recall how he ended up here, or how he fell unconscious. The lights came on unexpectedly, causing him to wince. He turned his head and watched as Alice strolled into the room.

“Finally! I wasn’t sure how long you’d be out for, but it’s really about time.” She stopped at the cart, picking up some rubber gloves. “I don’t like to wait, you know.”

“You’ve mentioned,” Sammy muttered, tugging his wrists against his bindings. Most of the dead clones that could be seen scattered around the studio, particularly level 9, only had a few straps across their bodies, but it seemed that Alice had taken extra care to make sure he couldn’t easily escape. 

“Where am I?” he asked. “There’s no way this is level 9.”

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow at him as she picked up a small knife. “What makes you think that?”

“This whole room is ink stained and there are pipes up there. Pretty sure your little sanctuary is spotless.”

“Hm.” She set down the knife, picking up a larger one. “You’re right. This isn’t level 9. You should be grateful, really, that I would step foot out here for _ you _. A wretched little back-stabber.” She turned to him with a glare. 

“You were going to get rid of me the moment you were done with me and you know it,” he retorted.

“Oh, still believing that false angel’s every word, are we?” she laughed.

“You still think I’m just a dumb sheep that can’t think for myself? Your intentions were clear.” 

“You heard that, did you? Ah well, it’s not like it matters. Everything fell into place anyway.” Alice smiled. 

“Oh, yes, your _ big plan _. Was that it? Use some monster to kidnap me so you could have revenge for me leaving?” 

“Come now, you really think that’s all there is to it? Now that’s just insulting,” she said, shaking her head. “Originally that wasn’t the plan at all, but after you decided to throw your lot in with those four, things changed.” She continued to look over her tools, rearranging them and checking over each one. “Yes, I then decided to do as you said a moment ago. But I’m not quite finished yet.” She sent a sly smile in his direction. 

“What, then? Tear me apart to make yourself more perfect?”  
Alice laughed. “Use you to- oh, don’t get a big head! I have _ standards _ , you know! You’d likely end up making me look _ worse _!” 

“Really? I didn’t think it’d be possible for you to look worse,” Sammy snorted. Her mouth snapped closed, and the glare she fixed on him was almost enough to make him regret his words. _ Almost _. 

“No,” she said after several seconds, her voice dangerously quiet though her words were dripping with venom, “I’m not going to use you to make myself more perfect. But I guarantee that I’m going to make your death as slow and painful as possible.” Considering that Alice practically did torture for fun, Sammy figured that ‘as slow and painful as possible’ would be significantly slow/painful. But despite that, he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of begging for mercy that wouldn’t come. 

“Well? Are you going to start or what?” 

“Eager, are we? Well unfortunately, we’ll _ both _have to wait,” she smirked. 

“Thought you didn’t like waiting.”

“Oh, this’ll be worth it, don’t you worry.”

“What could be so worth it that _ Alice Angel _ of all people would willingly wait if she didn’t have to?”

“Oh Sammy...” She patted the top of his head condescending. “There’s a reason I need you alive. You didn’t really think I’d just be happy to get my hands on the traitor, did you? What about the one who convinced him to betray in the first place?” She must have seen the realization on his face, because she smiled triumphantly. “Finally putting the pieces together, are you?” she purred. 

“She… she’ll really come for me?” he murmured, more to himself than her. 

“Hahaha, oh, of _ course _not! How long do you think you’ve been here? I don’t see her waltzing in here to rescue you, and she won’t. As a matter of fact, just a few short minutes ago I watched the entire group agree to leave you behind! Your so-called 'friend' agreed to ditch you surprisingly fast.” Though he didn't want to believe it, Sammy couldn’t help the disappointment he felt at her words. Al had said they were friends. That she wouldn’t leave a friend behind. Had… had she been lying? Or was it Alice that was lying?

“If she isn’t coming for me, then how do you plan on getting her here?” he asked. 

“There are plenty of options. Just know that however I get her here, it won’t have been because of you,” she sneered. “Even as stupid as she is, there is no way she’d spring a trap with _ you _ as the bait.” She finally picked up a syringe filled with clear-ish liquid from the cart, letting out a sigh. 

“You have _ no _ idea how difficult it was to get my hands on his stuff, you know,” she complained, stepping close to him. “And I’m using it on _ you. _ What a waste. Ugh, let’s just see if you’re still _ human _ enough for this to work.” She pushed his head down against the metal with her free hand, holding it there forcefully as she seemed to look for the right spot. He, of course, struggled to free himself, moving as much as possible.

“Oh, just stop it. There’s no use.” She jabbed the needle into his neck, holding up the pressure as the cold, foreign liquid was injected. She finished, removing the syringe and placing it on the cart, taking another moment before letting go of him. 

“What did you- What was… Wh…” He struggled to find words. His neck burned, but more immediately, his consciousness was quickly fading. 

“What was that? Ah, well, the _ long term _ effects are an interesting topic to get into…” Her words sounded like he was hearing them from underwater. “But _ short term… _ well, I suppose you’ll find out soon enough.” His vision slowly faded to black, and the last thing he was was her smug, grotesque smile staring down at him.

She laughed. “Sweet dreams.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I didn't get this chapter done sooner! I... well, I pretty much discovered a new game called The Blackout Club and got sucked into the deep, endless rabbit hole of lore this game has. But I'm hoping to get chapters done with much more regularity from now on!

Al scrambled out of the way as their hiding place was smashed to pieces. She paused for a split second, eyes locking onto the inky creature. The Projectionist whipped his head from side to side, freezing when its light landed on her. 

“Oooh… crap.” 

It screeched and immediately charged toward her, ignoring the others. She dove out of the way at the last second, then turned and watched as the thing stumbled to a stop. She glanced toward the others for a split second; Henry/Bendy looked rather shocked, but Tom was picking up his axe with a hard look on his face. She quickly returned her attention to the Projectionist just in time to duck out of the way once again as it charged her. However, this time, it reached one clawed hand out to the side and grabbed the rope slung around her torso.

Al was pulled backward suddenly. She let out a yelp as it whipped her around, it’s other hand grabbing her arm. Blinded, she tried to break out of the creature's grip as it stared down at her. Without warning, it let out a piercing scream and dropped her. She scrambled backward, watching as Tom swung his axe again before quickly picking up her own dropped axe up from the floor. She stepped forward, intending to help, when the unintelligible growls and gurgles of the Butcher Gang filled the room. 

“Really? These guys again?” she heard Henry grumble as they streamed into the room. There were more this time. Dozens of the mangled toons were coming toward them. 

The Projectionist screamed again as Tom sunk his axe into its side. It threw a punch, which Tom blocked with his metal arm. Then it lunged forward and plowed into him shoulder-first, causing Tom to lose his balance. 

“Bendy! Do something!” she yelled, swinging her axe toward the first of the advancing Butcher Gang. 

“Do what??” he called, sounding somewhat  _ nervous _ as he took a few steps back toward the wall. 

“Something other than stand there!” She swung twice more, taking out the first one. Great. One down, somewhere around four bajillion to go. “Go help Tom!” Then she had to focus all her attention on taking out the advancing monsters. They were flooding into the room, practically falling over each other in their eagerness to kill them horribly. They certainly weren’t as weirdly organized as last time, attacking at the same time and trying to back her into a corner. Because of that, it was easier to kill them. She’d been dealing with these mindlessly violent creatures her entire existence. Then again, of course, she’d never had to deal with more than three at a time, let alone dozens. She axed another in the head, and it dissipated. Geez, talk about deja vú. She stepped backwards, adjusted her grip on the weapon, and prepared to swing, when— 

_ “Allison!”  _

A shout of warning came from somewhere to her left, but it was the word… the  _ name _ … that caused her to freeze. She turned her head, startled, but she’d been warned for a reason. Something rammed into her and knocked her sideways into the wall. In that split second she found herself on the floor empty-handed, dark spots dancing across her vision. Dazed, she shook her head to clear it and moved to get up, when she stopped. The creature was standing over her, spotlighting her with its bright light. She held up a hand as she squinted in its glare. It took a step closer, then stopped and turned away from her, as if something else had caught its attention. It screeched and ran in another direction. 

Seizing her opportunity, she shakily got to her feet. While she scanned the floor for her weapon, thoughts raced through her mind.  _ Allison _ . Her name. She knew without a doubt that it was. It felt… right. More so than ‘Alice’ ever had. Was that what Henry had been trying to tell her? Then why—

Her muddled thoughts were cut short when her eyes drifted to a door. An open door. One that was just a handful of yards away, leading to a room under the platform of the elevator. And on the other side of that door? Sammy. 

She glanced toward the others as she took a step toward the door. They were both holding their own, for now at least. The monsters had seemed to forget about her for the moment. She looked between the open door and her friends. Surely it would be alright for her to leave for just a moment, right? If she waited for the others, their window of opportunity could close. She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t just leave Sammy to die because she cared more about her own safety, like she’d done for Henry. 

“I’m  _ done  _ being a coward,” she muttered, before sprinting toward the door. 

She slowed as she entered the dark room. The only light came from the doorway behind her. In front of her, an unconscious Sammy. He was strapped to an old metal operating table, one of two in the room. Next to the table, a cart covered in surgical tools. There were some boxes and crates lining the walls, giving the room the appearance of an oversized closet. She ran the last few steps to reach him and immediately started undoing the straps around his hands. 

“Sammy, wake up,” she said quickly, taking a second to shake his shoulder. Her hand came away wet, and she glanced at it to find it much more covered in ink than it should have been. Come to think of it, his entire body was  _ much _ more liquidy than it should’ve been. What on earth did Alice do to him?

She finished one of the leather straps, then quickly started on the other. 

“Come on, Sam, kind of short on time here.” She muttered, then shook his shoulder again, harder. This time, he stirred.

“S-Susie?” he mumbled, fingers twitching. 

“What?” She was caught off-guard by the strange, yet familiar name. “No, it’s—” He started suddenly, opening his eyes. 

“Al! What… what are you doing here?” He still sounded out of it, but at least knew who she was.

“Rescuing you.” She finished freeing his other hand and moved to get the strap binding his torso, when he grabbed her wrist. 

“No, you don’t… she…” he faltered, shaking his head. 

“Are you okay? What is it?”

“You-you need to go, it’s a—” Without warning, the door slammed shut, plunging the room into total darkness. There wasn’t even a crack under the door to let in light. 

“Trap.” she finished, then cursed under her breath, eyes darting every direction. How could she be so stupid? 

There was a chuckle, then the lights switched on. Alice was standing in front of the door, arms crossed, and somehow managing to smirk despite half of her face being melted like wax. Actually, her mug looked _worse_ than she remembered. It probably had something to do with her previous death. 

“Wow. Just wow.” She did a slow clap as she started closer, veering to the right slightly. “I hardly have to do a single thing and you come on in here injured, unarmed, and all by yourself, thinking yourself a hero. Please. As if you weren’t going to leave him to save your own skin.” She tensed, waiting for Alice to make a move, fingers itching for a weapon. Her words caused a spark of guilt. 

“But either way, here we are once again. Face to face. Though last time, of course, you never bothered to face me.” She stopped when she was standing on the other side of the cart, that being the only thing between the two. “Like the coward you are, you stabbed me in the back.”

“And you’re so brave? Separating me from my friends because you know you don’t stand a chance against them?” She said, finally speaking up. 

“There’s a difference between being  _ smart _ and being a  _ coward _ , believe it or not.” 

“What did you do to Sammy?” she demanded, glancing at him. He looked really dazed and lethargic. Like speaking to her had used all his strength, but… there was something more to it than that.

“Call it an experiment, if you will,” Alice said smugly. “Creatures with sentience are few and far between around here…”

“So you’re using him? What about all the clones you tear apart?”

“Oh please, as if I’d risk tainting  _ them,  _ should something go wrong. Dear Sammy, on the other hand, well…” She chuckled. She felt a flare of anger. How dare her. How  _ dare _ her. She valued the clones, the creatures she hunted down and dissected, higher than Sammy, a person. Maybe he was messed up just as bad as the rest of them, but he was still a  _ person _ . And she acted like he was nothing more than a lab rat. 

Her fury must have shown on her face because Alice picked up a knife from the table and stepped back, smiling wider. 

“Well,  _ Little-Miss-Perfect _ , this has been  _ fun _ , but I think it’s time to get this show on the road, no?” 

Allison quickly made a grab for weapon of her own from the surgical table, but Alice was quicker. She kicked it hard, knocking it into Allison. She stumbled, the tools clattering to the floor. Alice lunged toward her, knife in hand. The two collided. Allison managed to grab the other’s arm in an effort to keep her from stabbing her. However, Alice’s footing was sure, while Allison was barely able to keep from ending up flat on her back. Slowly, the knife was steadily forced downward. Just before cold metal met flesh, Allison jammed her knee into Alice’s stomach and rolled to the side. Alice fell forward with an angry shout. The knife met rotting wood with a dull thump. Allison snatched another knife from where it had fallen on the floorboards, and in the next instant, the two were on their feet, facing each other with hateful glares. 

This time, it was Allison that moved first. She lunged forward quickly, as though to copy what Alice had done, but darted to the right at the last second and slashed. Her knife barely grazed the perfect side of Alice's face. It left a thin black line across Alice's cheel. She hissed in anger. They were both quick. But Allison’s experience might give her an edge. At least, that’s what she hoped. She darted forward again. Alice blocked her knife with slight difficulty, nearly stumbling as she stepped back in the direction of the empty surgical table. Allison had been right. Alice wasn’t nearly as good a fighter as her. 

More confident now, she stepped closer. The only problem was that it seemed to have been what Alice wanted. She lunged forward again, and though Allison may have thought she was ready for her next move, she wasn’t. The knife flashed towards her. She moved to block it, but it proved to only be a brief distraction. There was a sudden heavy blow just below her knee. She sucked in a pained breath as she lurched forward. Then, hands on her back for a split second, shoving her forward. Hard. She fell, her upper body landing straight on the table. A touch of panic flashed through her mind, and she didn’t hesitate a moment in rolling to the side and get up. 

But before she even had the chance to move, Alice grabbed her ponytail and smashed her face straight down onto the unforgiving metal. Pain shot through her. Dazed, for several seconds all she could do was lay there, tasting ink in the back of her throat. 

By the time she could comprehend getting back to her feet, the fight was over. The moment she tried to move, she was aware of the fact that one of her wrists had been strapped down. Her knife had fallen somewhere out of reach. And of course, it was hard to miss the feeling of a blade on her neck.

She tried to turn over, so she could at least face Alice when she finally slit her throat, but the movement only made the pressure on her neck grow, the knife digging in just enough to hurt. Part of her pain-fogged mind wondered why Alice hadn’t said anything yet. That she hadn’t started gloating. That’s when she realized the other was panting just as hard as she was. That gave her some comfort, at least. That Alice hadn’t taken her down  _ completely _ effortlessly. 

Suddenly, the knife was removed from her throat, the pressure relieved. After a moment, she rolled over so she could see somewhat what was going on. Alice was standing right in front of her, facing the other direction. Facing… Sammy. He’d managed to free himself while they were fighting. And in his hand, another knife. Despite the pit of fear that had formed due to the hopeless situation, a smile tugged at her lips. Not all was lost. However, Alice was grinning as well, the messed-up side of her face twisting into a sickening smile. 

“Oh Sammy...” she said sweetly. “I’m so glad you’re finally awake. Tell me, how do you feel?” 

“How do I feel?” he repeated. “I’ll show you how I feel, you crazy, sick piece of—”

“Now, Sammy,” she held up both hands complacently, “let’s not do something we might regret, hm? I know we’ve had our differences—”

“I’m pretty sure we’re past that point,  _ Alice, _ ” he snapped. “What did you do to me?” 

She laughed. “Do you really think I’m going to give you the satisfaction of knowing that right after you decided to threaten me? Ah, but then again, I’m not  _ cruel _ …” 

“That’s definitely debatable,” Sammy muttered, though Alice continued without acknowledging him. 

“No, I  _ will _ tell you. On one condition.” 

“Yeah right. And that is?” 

“We work together again.” 

It was Sammy’s turn to laugh. “Right, because that went so well last time? You can’t possibly expect me to grovel at your feet like some kind of idiot.” 

“Of course not!” Her smile hadn’t budged an inch. “You wouldn’t be working  _ for  _ me, you’d be working  _ with _ me. As equals! Hear me out before you say no, won’t you?” When Sammy didn’t reply, she continued. “Surely, as musically inclined as you are, you miss your sanctuary? You could have a new one, all to yourself. An entire floor, if you want! And, if you so desire, I’ll allow you access to all my materials, all my resources. I mean,” she gestured to him, “you’re imperfect now, but with my help, who knows what could happen? And almost anything else you could ever want, I could get it for you. Well?” 

“...What’s the catch?” he asked after a moment. 

“There is none! Well… not a big one. There  _ is _ one teeny little thing I’d have you do, should you agree. Something to… prove your loyalty. You  _ have _ betrayed me before, as I’m sure you recall.” 

“_And it is?” _

“Eager, are you? I’d think that you of all people would have more patience. Ah well. It’s simple. I want you to kill her.” She stepped to the side. There was nothing but about half a dozen feet between them now.

Sammy’s eyes narrowed. “Ah yes, so simple. Kill the only person who gives a crap about me. No big deal.” 

“Please!” She laughed. “You think she cares about you? You’re so gullible it’s pathetic and funny at the same time. She was going to leave you behind to save her own skin. She’s only here because  _ I  _ decided otherwise. But…” Alice sighed. “You’re not going to believe me, because you so desperately want to believe  _ her _ , instead. Because you’re so desperate to paint  _ me _ as the bad guy. Are you really going to ignore what she did? She lied to you, Sammy. Surely you can’t deny  _ that _ ?” 

“...Yes. She did, but—”

“That’s right. She lied to you, turned you against me… what she gets, is what she deserves.” 

Sammy closed his eyes, going silent for several seconds. When they opened, there was a hardness to them. “Okay,” he said. Allison’s stomach dropped, while Alice’s smile grew. “But first…” he started, fixing his gaze on Alice.

“Yes?” Her smile faltered, a sliver of irritation showing through the facade.

“Can I have an axe?” His eyes drifted toward Allison. 

“I suppose I can’t deny you  _ that _ .” Alice was smiling again, this time directed at Allison. It was likely the closest she could get to outright bragging with Sammy there. She stepped toward the wall. “I believe I saw one somewhere around…” Alice bent down, picking up a rusty axe that had been sitting behind a crate, out of sight. She returned and held it out to him without a moment's hesitation. 

“Eager, are you?” Sammy asked. 

“I’ve been waiting for this for years. I don’t _deserve_ to wait longer.” She stated simply, seemingly missing the hint of sarcasm in his voice. Without another word, Sammy took the axe in both hands. Facing Allison, he took a step forward. 

“Sammy,” she started, shifting nervously against the metal table. “You don’t really believe her, do you?” He said nothing. In a few short paces, he had reached her. 

He lifted the axe over his shoulder. 

When he swung, she flinched only slightly. A fortunate decision, as it turned out, because she was able to watch what happened next. 

As he swung the weapon like a baseball bat, he turned. And let go. 

And the axe head buried itself into Alice’s collarbone. There was a strangled gasp as Alice and Sammy’s eyes met. Then, she collapsed onto the ink-stained floorboards. 

Though her heart was pounding painfully fast, Allison let out a laugh of relief. 

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” she grinned. “I came to save you, but it looks like you ended up saving—”

“So she was lying?” Sammy asked. He hadn’t moved. 

“What?”

“The Angel was lying when she said you weren’t going to come for me, right? Why else would you be here?” 

She had come to rescue him, hadn’t she? But… Alice hadn’t completely lied. As much as she hated to admit it, the group  _ had _ agreed to leave him behind. It would be simple to agree with him. But it wasn’t the whole truth. And a lie by omission is still a lie. 

“She was... _mostly_ lying ,” she admitted, looking at her feet. “When you were first taken, we… didn’t think it would be possible to save you. So we were going to… leave you behind. But I saw an opportunity. I thought it was possible. Which is why I’m here. Rather unfortunate that it was a trap…” she looked up at him. He was nodding slowly. 

“I... understand. The others saw it as a suicide mission. Especially Henry, I take it?” She nodded, feeling relieved. 

“Do you mind…?” She pointed to her hand. Sammy nodded, moving closer to undo the strap. “Thank you, it’s practically impossible to get with one hand.” He nodded again. “Are… are you alright, by the way?” she asked after a few seconds. “What did she do to you?” He paused for a moment, then sighed. 

“I… have  _ no _ idea. I feel… relatively fine? Now, at least. Earlier I… felt like I was barely holding myself together. Physically  _ and _ mentally. It was… not good.” Sammy rubbed his hands together gently, shaking his head.

“And you’re just fine now?”

“I certainly hope so.” Allison felt like there was something he was holding back. Something he wasn’t saying. But she decided not to push it. If he wanted to tell her, he would. Sammy shook his head again and moved to finish untying her hand. But just as he finished doing so, there was a loud  _ click _ that echoed off the walls. Allison and Sammy both turned their heads just in time to watch Alice dart through the side door. Sammy was already sprinting towards it when the door was slammed shut. 

“Locked,” he reported grimly, turning back toward her. She quickly ran to the other door and tried it. No luck.

“Look.” Allison pointed to a lever next to the door. “She must have switched it on her way out.” Sammy swore. 

“I should have made sure she was dead.” Allison glanced to the unnervingly large puddle of ink floor. 

“It’s not your fault. But she lost a lot of ink. She’s likely in very poor shape, even though she’s still alive.”

“Yeah, well, doesn’t matter if she’s half dead if we can’t get out of here to finish her. But more importantly, what does that lever do?” Allison rubbed her sore wrist as she stared at the rusty lever. 

“I don’t know, nothing’s happening.” Famous last words, apparently. Just as Allison said this, there was a distant rumbling sound above their heads. One that grew louder with each passing second. One that both Allison and Sammy  _ instantly _ recognized. They both looked at each other in shock and dread. It was the pipes. 


End file.
